Blood traitor
by Dramionia
Summary: Sixteen year old Draco Malfoy has a plan: fulfill the mission entrusted to him by Voldemort (and live through the year). Everything changes when he is slipped a potion that will not only drastically change his life, but of those around him as well.
1. Potion

**I don't own Harry Potter. The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling, Scholastic and WB. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.**

BLOOD TRAITOR

**Chapter I **

Potion

Bright moonlight streamed through the small window, illuminating the interior of a deserted potions classroom. Various components used by the students during classes with Professor Slughorn were spread out around one of the tables, and in the middle of all that stood a cauldron with a little fire burning underneath. Over the cauldron stood a dark-skinned boy who was cutting frogs' tongue, another ingredient of the potion brewing in the cauldron on the table. One could read stubbornness and determination on his face.

"Damn Malfoy. He never makes mistakes, never does anything that might jeopardize his image, but points out to other people their smallest little indiscretion and uses it for his own purpose," thought Blaise Zabini while throwing freshly chopped frogs' tongue into the cauldron with the blue potion. The substance in the cauldron began to boil and rapidly changed color to purple.

Mistakes made by Draco Malfoy interested the boy at the moment because, for over a month, the blonde-haired Slytherin had not given him any peace and coerced him into doing his homework and oblige 'small' favors. All of this for one small mistake, a mistake that could cost Blaise his position of second most wanted boy amongst girls from Slytherin (of course, position of the first belonged to Draco). Blaise Zabini was known as very picky when it came to female beauty, so if he chose a girl, she should feel special.

If people knew that Blaise shagged Millicent, his shares would fall sharply. None of the girls would come to him after that. Despite the fact that he did it while under the influence of firewhiskey, no one would give him absolution. It was not that Millicent was not liked by colleagues from her home, it was more about her appearance. Even those who were friends with her could not deny that Millicent was the most masculine girl in all of Hogwarts. Even the fact that she came from a family of pure-bloods didn't add to her attractiveness.

In Slytherin, there were a lot of attractive girls with equally good backgrounds and none of them would like to be included in the same group as Millicent; none of them wanted to be compared to her. Blaise, an outrageously handsome pure-blood Slytherin, should shag them, not Millicent. Even Crabbe and Goyle would be ashamed of having sex with her. Why, of all people, had Malfoy burst into their dormitory? Why then, when he was with Millicent?

When sober, Zabini obliviated Millicent to prevent her from blurting out that she had slept with him to her girlfriends. Malfoy, though, was a different case. He was too clever for that. He began working immediately and not only put the memories that he had pulled out from his head in a safe place, but also made a lot of notes that would help him recall the incident.

Blaise had to knock that weapon out of Draco's hand. He could not stand being blackmailed for the remaining one and a half years of education at Hogwarts, and who knows, maybe even longer. That's why Blaise decided to implement his plan. He concluded that the best defense was a good offense. He thought very long about what to do until he came up with the idea. If everything went well, he not only could just forget about granting favors for Malfoy, but also gain a lot more. Malfoy would give him almost everything for his secret to remain safe.

Blaise reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small metal box with a snake carved on the lid. He opened it and drew a long, brown, wavy hair from inside and then added it to the cauldron. As soon as the hair fell into the purple potion, the color of the liquid changed to pink. Blaise glanced down into the cauldron, satisfied with his work, and poured the potion into a glass bottle, which was then put into his pocket. With a wave of his wand, he cleaned up the mess. "Okay then Malfoy, we will see who will be on top," he thought, grinning from ear to ear, and then left the classroom.

The next afternoon, Harry and Hermione had agreed that he would meet her at the library and then they would go to the Great Hall for dinner. While waiting for him, the girl sat in the library and read an extra transmutation book. She wanted to make her essay for McGonagall perfect and not limited to issues treated very briefly by her manual. Immersed in reading, she suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"What a worthless creature! Can you do anything right?!" Hermione looked up and saw a tall, pale boy with exceptionally bright blonde hair. On his face she could see rage and contempt. Standing in front of him was a little creature with big ears, bulging eyes, and a dirty rag tied on its waist. The house elf had bowed its head, but was secretly gazing, terrified of the blonde. At this point, the boy swung at the trembling creature.

"Malfoy! Leave this house-elf alone immediately!" Hermione stood up and, forgetting about her book, started towards Malfoy. He turned his head towards her to see who dared to disturb him while he was punishing his own house-elf. At this point, using the opportunity since his master was not looking at him, the house-elf disapparated, presumably in order to punish himself.

"Oh, what a surprise! Who do we have here? The Mudblood herself!" said Malfoy, and his face broke into a grimace full of hatred.

"How dare you treat him so?!" The girl was furious. "He can feel and think."

"No dirty mudblood will teach me how I should treat my property. Like house-elves, you should not have any rights, because your blood is dirty and filthy," he said with obvious disgust.

"My blood is not dirty," she answered calmly. "I saw it and rubbish did not swim in it. The color did not look like dirt as well and is just as red as yours."

At that moment, Harry opened the door of the library and entered with a brisk step. He was crossing the rows of shelves to get to Hermione's favorite bench when, while passing the last rack, he heard her voice.

"You know that my blood is as pure as yours," said the girl. Harry stopped, stood behind the bookcase and pricked his ears.

"I know. I know," answered Malfoy with barely noticeable sarcasm. On the inside, he was laughing at the nonsense that the Gryffindor was babbling. "And you are using SPEW to further the Dark Lord's aims. It was your idea to use Sirius Black's house-elf to get rid of him and lure Potter to the ministry." In his head, it was the same crap as the ones told by the girl.

"How do you know about Kreacher?" she asked, surprised. She didn't assume that the younger Malfoy knew so much about the actions of Voldemort.

"My parents have no secrets from me," he said defiantly.

Harry strained even more to hear because the things he heard were a complete surprise, and he hoped that the ensuing conversation would explain something to him.

"Hmm and we are a couple and plan on getting married," she said with hardly discernible sarcasm. "You should begin to appreciate the house-elves, because they are not as mindless as you think."

Harry chuckled to himself. "Hermione and Malfoy as a couple. What bullshit. I've probably misunderstood something. It's probably because I have not heard the whole conversation," he concluded, and left from behind the bookcase to meet Hermione. She saw him at exactly the same moment he did.

"Harry, you're here. Finally," she said and smiled broadly. Then she hastily gathered her belongings from the table and packed them into her bag, put the bag on her shoulder, and then, together with Harry, she left the library.

"What happened?" he asked her after a moment.

"Oh, the usual. He found a victim to abuse," she answered, and then pondered. "What do you think? Might we be able to free all of Malfoy's house-elves like Dobby?" she asked after a moment.

Harry said nothing, only smiled indulgently and opened the doors of the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was crowded as usual at dinner time. One could hear the chatter, laughter and the sound of silverware hitting plates. Draco Malfoy was now sitting with the Slytherins and staring at the Golden Trio seated at the Gryffindor table. He hated them more than anything in the world. They were guilty for his father's several months' imprisonment in Azkaban. He could not decide who he hated the most: the Boy-Who-Lived, who was seen as the savior of the wizarding world, the red-haired Weasley who was a blood traitor, or the mudblood who was not only taking the living space of pure-bred wizards, but dared to instruct them and be the best student in the whole school.

He hated her with all his heart. He hated that she was snooty and had horrible hair. He hated everything about her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. He hated her whole being. Recently he also came to the conclusion that, if not because of ones like her, there would be no war, and he would not have to perform any tasks for the Dark Lord. There would be only pure-blood wizards, and the position of the Malfoys wouldn't be threatened. Draco was pulled from his reverie by Blaise, who sat at the table next to him.

"Hey! Since you keep scrutinizing her like this, are you falling in love with her?" asked Blaise, knowing perfectly that he would make Malfoy off-balance.

"Don't you dare insult me like that!" Draco frowned as Blaise predicted. "How's my transfiguration essay?" he asked after a moment.

"Don't panic. Just kidding," said Blaise, still smiling from ear to ear. "I am sure that your essay will be as great as if you wrote it by yourself."

"I hope so," Draco said.

"Look at Pansy. What did she come up with again?"

Draco turned towards Pansy and watched her for a moment. Only a few seconds were enough for Zabini. He looked around, checking if anyone was looking at him, drew the bottle of potion from his pocket, and poured the substance directly into Malfoy's pumpkin juice.

"What do you mean?" asked Malfoy when he couldn't see anything out of order in Pansy's appearance.

"The badge," Blaise explained, knowing very well that, for two days now, Pansy bore the plaque 'Draco Malfoy - Prince of Slytherin' attached to her garments.

"Nothing new," said Malfoy, who shrugged, took a sip of his pumpkin juice and went back to eating.

While Blaise took up conversation with Nott sitting on his other side, Draco's thoughts went back to the direction of hating Gryffindors and the Mudblood Granger. Again, he glanced at her, and when his eyes fell on her lips, he suddenly felt something very strange. Thoughts that had never been there began to flash through his head. Suddenly, he started to wonder how it would feel to kiss those lips. He turned his gaze away, but some force compelled him to look at her again. When he gave in to that force and once again looked at the Mudblood, he began to wonder how it would be to tear her robe apart while kissing her. He began to wonder how her body looked, and if her breasts were as big as Parkinson's, or maybe they were smaller, like those of Daphne Greengrass.

At this point, he noticed that she was also looking in his direction, and in her sight there was something more than the usual hatred, something that had never been there before and something he could not identify. Draco's mouth twisted into his trademark smirk. Then, with the full strength of his will, he forced himself to tear his eyes from Granger, got up and quickly walked out of the Great Hall.

Hermione ate dinner talking with Harry. As quite often in recent months, the topic of conversation was Malfoy's strange behavior. Suddenly, when Hermione thought of Malfoy, rather than focus on what was annoying about him and how she hated him, she began to analyze his appearance. "Without that stupid grimace, his lips are really nice. He has beautiful eyes. His silhouette is perfect for my type; he is tall and muscular. Not surprisingly, all Slytherin girls are fond of him. I wonder how he looks without his clothes," she thought.

Suddenly, she was frightened by her own thoughts. She knew it was completely irrational, but Hermione was scared that someone might realize that she was undressing Malfoy in her own head. What would they think about her? Distressed, she bit her lower lip, as she did whenever something bothered her. Feeling increasingly strong remorse because of her own thoughts, she felt some kind of force compel her to look at the Slytherin table where her, Harry's, and Ron's nemesis always sat. Slowly, she turned her head in that direction and in that moment, her gaze crossed with the blonde's eyes. It took a split second before he twisted his mouth, as usual, into a smirk, turned in another direction, got up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall.

Although busy talking with Nott, Blaise observed Malfoy and Granger. He was not sure if the potion had already begun to work, but then, from the corner of his eye, he saw their crossing stares. When Draco got up and quickly left the Great Hall, abandoning his unfinished dinner as if afraid of something, running from something, Blaise was certain that his plan had succeeded. He was almost sorry for Malfoy because even though Draco was blackmailing him, and Zabini wanted to repay the favor, Blaise liked him. Contrary to popular belief, Slytherins were capable of feelings such as simple liking or even friendship. Although they were capable of feats that were considered by most people unclean, it was just part of their nature. They could separate interests from friendship, and when they had to choose between liking someone and their own interests, they always chose the latter because, as they have often emphasized, they were not pathetic Hufflepuffs.

Blaise didn't understand why Draco needed someone to do his homework because the boy was as good a student as Blaise was, maybe even better. Perhaps it was due to the fact that, recently, Malfoy did not have spare time because when he wasn't sitting in the classroom, he disappeared somewhere for hours. Nobody knew what he was doing, but Slytherins knew better than to inquire what was going on. Crabbe and Goyle only knew where he disappeared to, but neither one ever betrayed anything, apparently due to self-interest. Draco's two closest friends were not too smart, but evidently they had enough brain cells to know who to be afraid of. Those Slytherins who came from families of death eaters were almost certain that Malfoy's disappearances were related to the task assigned to him by the Dark Lord. The others were much too afraid of Malfoy to even ask him, Goyle, or Crabbe about anything.

Zabini felt a little remorse. He knew that by implementing his plan, he was possibly exposing Malfoy to the danger of the Dark Lord's hand. However after a while, the remorse disappeared, because Blaise told himself that no one else would find out. Only he, Malfoy and Granger would know the truth.

If he gave _Amortentia_ to Malfoy, he would expose him to a really big risk if anyone found out. By using a different potion, the worst that could happen to Malfoy would be psychological trauma, which was the lesser of two evils. That was a small price to pay for Blaise's peace of mind. Zabini made sure that the effects of the potion would run out as soon as Granger and Malfoy did what he expected them to do, and thus he would gain the needed material for blackmailing Malfoy. Blaise very carefully chose one of many potions of this type. He decided on _Effectus Cupiditas_, because it affected not only the drinker, but also the person whose hair was added to the potion.

Blaise knew that Malfoy, no matter how handsome he was, didn't have a chance with the Mudblood because she hated him with equal bitterness to his hate for her. Blaise only had to wait. He knew from the beginning that neither Granger nor Malfoy would surrender easily to the effects of the potion. They would avoid each other, looking for something to distract their attention. However, the potion's effects, almost imperceptible at first, increased with time. Eventually, at some point, the people experiencing these effects would not have a choice and there was only one solution. He figured it would not take longer than a day. Blaise only had to wait and watch them at the right time to get the evidence.

Since the beginning of the school year, Draco Malfoy was under increasing pressure. He was given a mission that, if not completed, would place not only his own life, but his loved ones' lives in great danger. The mission was more than most adults were able to take onto their shoulders, and it was commissioned to a sixteen-year old boy. By himself, Draco had to face the task of smuggling Death Eaters into Hogwarts and killing one of the two most powerful wizards of the present day.

Currently, he failed to execute any of those tasks. At first, Draco was proud of the mission entrusted to him by the Dark Lord. He felt grown up and accountable. Although terribly afraid of the Dark Lord, he dreamt of gaining a high position amongst the Death Eaters if the plan was successful. He dreamt of becoming a favorite of the Dark Lord and replacing the position his aunt and other Death Eaters currently enjoyed. He would hold the Dark Lord's trust and esteem. He dreamt that one day he would get a more significant position amongst the Death Eaters' ranks than his father once had.

He was annoyed by his mother who was trying to help him in carrying out the task. He felt that she treated him like a child who was not independent and not capable of doing it by himself. It seemed as if she forgot that while his father was serving a sentence in Azkaban, it was he who was the head of the family. That's why he was even more determined to prove that he was worthy of the role. It was his responsibility to recover the status of his family. Therefore, when he got the idea of using the vanishing cabinet, he didn't want to include his mother into the plan. He had to show her that he was an adult and worthy to bear the Malfoy name. When he went to Diagon Alley with Narcissa to shop before the school year, he put a lot of effort into misleading her and went alone to 13B Knockturn Alley, Borgin and Burkes. Full of faith in his own power, he even intimidated the old store owner.

Yet when he came to Hogwarts and his repeated attempts did not yield any results, his faith in himself and his own abilities began to leave him. He felt more and more helpless and alone. Besides, after the Dark Lord chose Malfoy Manor as his headquarters, Draco repeatedly witnessed the atrocities of the Dark Lord and his servants. During the Christmas break, he had been involved in torturing some of the Dark Lord's enemies. He used to think that torturing others was fun, but now he noticed that it induced feelings of guilt, disgust and fear. It was very different than deducting points from first year Hufflepuffs.

Every time he was told to cast the _Cruciatus_ on someone who had incurred the powerful warlock's displeasure, he did so with great reluctance and only because he knew that there was no way out. If he didn't obey, he would replace the tortured victim. He had to concentrate really hard to control the trembling of the hand that held his wand. The Dark Lord seemed to notice anyway. He would mock him, then torment him, claiming that it was Draco who would torture all prisoners. If not for his mission, he would have returned to Hogwarts with great relief after Christmas.

He began to fear his failure and he realized that without help from his loved ones, he couldn't handle the task entrusted to him. On the one hand, he wanted to complete his task, mainly because he feared what would happen if he didn't. In the other hand, he did not want to kill anybody, because subconsciously he felt that when he did, something inside of him would be changed forever. He was afraid to cross that line, because he felt that there was nothing good beyond that. At the same time, he hated that fear in himself which wouldn't allow him to fulfill his task and thus gain a coveted position amongst the Death Eaters.

All these emotions were churning in his head and, like never before, he needed support and advice on how to deal with this mess. Had his father been as conflicted as he, or maybe his first murder came pretty easily? Draco was sure that his father was not as weak as he was, and he wouldn't have a problem with killing the old man. Draco really wanted to learn how to become like Lucius, but his father was locked in Azkaban for many months and could not give his advice as usual. Like in the times before the Dark Lord had entrusted him with the mission, Draco started to consult with his mother. He didn't tell her everything; he was too afraid that it would expose her to greater danger, but his mother supported him as much as she could. Her letters were full of love and faith, and they brought him consolation in his moments of doubt. Unfortunately, Narcissa Malfoy couldn't do anything more for her only beloved son. She was too far away.

Only Snape was near him. Recently, however, Draco started mistrusting him. Snape was his favorite teacher by far and he was also a fellow Death Eater, but Draco became suspicious when Snape would always try to learn the details of Draco's progress in his mission. Draco suspected that Snape did not want to help him, but instead wanted to do the job for him, thus winning the laurels and ruling the Malfoy family as a bonus. This was the optimistic version. Draco didn't want to even think about something much worse. The boy knew that the only people who could be fully trusted were his mother and father. He wanted to trust Snape, but he was afraid.

In recent months, fear constantly accompanied him. He was afraid of his future and those of his loved ones. He knew that the Dark Lord was capable of great cruelty, and only recently realized that his mother was right: that the mission that Voldemort had ordered Draco to do was a kind of punishment for the Malfoys due to Lucius' failure. This penalty, however, was only a prelude to what would happen if the younger Malfoy also failed. The pain given by the _Cruciatus_ was not the worst that could happen to Lucius, Narcissa and Draco.

All the tension and stress made him instigate quarrels with people more often, even those whom he still regarded as friends. The stupidity of Goyle and Crabbe started to irritate him more and more, just as much as the constant courtship from Parkinson. Draco had always been popular with girls, especially those from Slytherin, but recently the attention shown to him started to bother him. He didn't have time for enamored Slytherin girls tracking his every move. He used to use them so that he could get laid by every teenage girl whom he desired, but now he did it rarely and only when he had to vent his frustration after yet another failure. He spent most of his free time in the Room of Requirement, trying to fix a broken magical cabinet. Today he decided that he had to read more about the rules of how these particular magical devices functioned, because none of the spells he had used so far had brought him to the desired result.

Shortly after leaving the Great Hall, Draco headed straight to the dungeons. In his dormitory, he had a few books on how magical items worked. Today he was going to focus on a book about the magical ways of moving from place to place. He assumed that it would take him all night, so he would not have time to write his Charms essay. Draco was glad that he could blackmail Zabini, because he was one of the best students in Slytherin. Without this, Malfoy would not have been able to cope with the stress of his mission and the expectations of professors at the same time.

When he got to the dormitory, he threw himself on the bed and groaned loudly. There was no one in the room, and he had a moment for himself. Unfortunately, it could not be used in his own way, the way he dreamed of, because time worked against him. After a moment, he got up from the bed, and with a complicated spell, opened the closet with his private things. He pulled out a stack of books and grabbed a thick volume that laid at the very top of the stack. He opened the tome and began to read.

The old volume described spells that were used to create items that moved from place to place. Amongst these were chapters about broomsticks, fireplaces and portkeys. There was no chapter about vanishing cabinets. So far, Draco focused on the chapter about fireplaces. He was looking for similarities between them and a vanishing cabinet. Unfortunately, he could not bind together these two magical items. It was similar with other magical inventions mentioned in the book. No point of reference could be found. "If only I could remove the wards against apparition at Hogwarts," he thought.

At this point, instead of thinking about tens of Death Eaters apparating into the Great Hall, Draco began to think about the Gryffindor girls' dormitory. Suddenly, in the place of the silver and green of his own dormitory, there was gold and red. Girls' trinkets replaced the brooms and quidditch robes scattered everywhere around the beds. Then, from the adjacent bathroom came the sound of pouring water. After a while, the sound stopped, and the door to the bathroom opened. Draco looked in that direction and saw the girl.

She was wrapped in only a towel, and was drying her freshly washed brown curls with a second one. Her skin was still warmed up after the bath, and drops of water from her hair were running down her shoulders. She had long, well-shaped, slim legs and beautiful cleavage. She looked in Draco's direction, then smiled and winked at him. Concerned, but also fascinated, he could not take his eyes off of her. He started to wonder what it would be like to see the towel suddenly untying and falling to the floor.

The girl looked at him flirtatiously and then threw her hair towel into the corner of the room. Then slowly, she walked over to the bed where he was sitting. She sat and, while still smiling at him, she picked up a brush and with slow, even movements, started combing her wet curls. When she finished, she threw her hair back and lay across the bed. She laughed and lifted her legs, causing the towel to rise up, uncovering even more and practically showing all of her thighs.

Draco could not resist and reached towards her with his hand. He didn't know if he only wanted to touch her or completely rip the towel from her body. When his fingers were almost caressing the girl's thighs, the figure began to dissipate, and after a short while, completely disappeared. He let out a roar of surprise and his book tumbled to the floor. He opened his eyes and found himself again in the Slytherin dormitory. His eyes wandered in the direction of a sizable bulge in the robes he was wearing. It was clear evidence of how much he liked what he just saw.

At that moment, he started to panic. He was afraid of what was happening to him. He had never thought of Granger in that way. He could not think of her like that; she was a filthy mudblood! He began to feel disgusted with himself, because no self-respecting pure-blood wizard disgraced himself through physical contact with someone as dirty and disgusting as Miss Know-It-All. No such thing would even cross that pure-blood wizard's mind! Only blood traitors like Weasley could be interested in such creatures. Descendants of the great family of the Malfoys were not that low. Where did these dreams and desires which he was ashamed of come from? Apart from the origin, Granger was not even his type! Draco definitely preferred tall, blue-eyed and blonde women, not a dwarfish, bushy-haired and bucktoothed Miss Know-It-All.

However, despite the disgust and shame, Draco could not stop thinking about how much he would like to find himself in Granger's bed, how much he wanted to touch her, or even kiss her and drown in her completely.

Unable to come to himself, he was trying over and over again to focus on the book. He told himself that she was a dirty Mudblood, in whom he should not be interested in such a manner. Unfortunately, scenes like the one with Granger wrapped in a towel continued to appear before his eyes. She still appeared out of nowhere. It was distracting him from the important task at hand. Every time Granger seduced him scantily dressed, yet she would disappear when he tried to touch her. Draco came to the conclusion that it was happening to him because he had not been with any girl recently and his body was demanding it. "But why Granger?" he wondered desperately.

Driven to his limits of endurance, he decided to relieve himself. While creating spicy scenes with Hermione Granger in his mind, he led himself to fulfillment. But it didn't pass. He even had the impression that it was getting worse. Granger still tempted him, and when he tried to touch her she disappeared. The sense of failure and longing only grew. He decided that research for information about the cabinet would have to wait until he solved this more pressing problem. "Only a pure-blooded girl may be able to supplant it out of my mind," he thought, and went down to the common room to find a suitable candidate.

Only shooting flames from the fireplace lit up the large, gloomy, but well-equipped living room of the old mansion. A beautiful blonde-haired woman stood by the window and with thoughtful, anxious eyes, she stared off into the darkness. In her hands she was clutching a wad of parchment, a letter from her son. Suddenly, the woman was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of the door opening. Narcissa turned and her eyes rested on her sister, Bellatrix, standing in the doorway.

"Did you get a letter from Draco?" the dark-haired woman asked. Narcissa just nodded her head and turned back toward the window, looking into the night. "Did he finally make some progress? The Dark Lord will be happy with him."

"He is only sixteen," Narcissa replied without turning her head from the window.

"Cissy, it's such a great honor for somebody who is only sixteen. Don't you see it? You should be happy."

"It's you who doesn't understand, Bella!" Narcissa turned to her sister rapidly.

"The Dark Lord is merciful and gracious. If my nephew succeeds he will be generously rewarded."

"I'm worried about him. He is very affected by all of this. I'm afraid that he cannot handle it."

"The Dark Lord takes care of his Death Eaters. If Draco was unable to perform this task, it would not be entrusted to him," Bellatrix insisted.

"Bella, he doesn't care for anybody and no one is important to him. It's because of him that I lost Lucius, and now I might lose my only child, too," Narcissa answered with a whisper that hinted towards her fear.

"How dare you!" Her sister frowned. "If Draco succeeds, he will get a major position at the Dark Lord's side, just like me." Hearing these words, Narcissa laughed bitterly.

"Do you really think that you are so important to the Dark Lord? He doesn't care about you as much as he doesn't care about Lucius and Draco."

"You're wrong. He forgave me for my failure in the Department of Mysteries, and now, once again, he shares everything with me and he calls me his most faithful servant. He trusts me! If it was not true, he wouldn't entrust me with his treasure. He would take it away from me."

"What treasure?" Narcissa became interested.

"Do you really think that I would betray the Dark Lord by revealing his secret to you? This item is too important to him." At this point, Narcissa's thoughts began to surge in her head. She started to wonder if the information that slipped from Bellatrix might somehow help her son. Nothing came to her mind, especially since she didn't know what the object was, or where it was located. The only really safe place seemed to be the Lestrange's vault in Gringotts. Too many people would have access anywhere else.

"I bet you are hiding that something in your vault at Gringotts. Even with not knowing what it is or why it is so important," Narcissa replied in a mocking tone, hoping that it would provoke her sister into revealing the whole truth.

"I will not tell you anything. You already nearly betrayed the Dark Lord by talking about Draco's mission with Snape."

"Thus, it's in Gringotts," Narcissa replied calmly. Bellatrix's face reddened when she realized that she unconsciously provided her sister with too much information. Concluding that ending the conversation was for the best, she turned on her heel and walked out of the room.


	2. Antics of imagination

******I don't own Harry Potter. The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling, Scholastic and WB. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.**

**Chapter 2**

Antics of imagination

Draco was well aware of how much the opposite sex was attracted to him and knew that there would always be some Slytherin girls willing to meet his needs. He looked around the Slytherin common room. There were a dozen or so people who spoke cheerfully while sitting in front of the fireplace on sofas and chairs upholstered in green and silver material. Some people played Wizard's Chess or Exploding Snap, but one beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl sat on a chair and read a book. A sly, barely visible smile appeared on Malfoy's face.

Astoria Greengrass, younger sister of Daphne, had been in love with him since she first crossed the threshold of Hogwarts. "She is two years younger than me, and probably has little experience in these matters. But on the other hand, that's why it should be easier for me to seduce her! Besides, maybe sexual ability runs in their family and Astoria is equally talented in this area as Daphne. And on top of it, she is my type!" Draco thought. Decision made, he moved towards the girl.

At the same time, Hermione experienced some hard moments in her dorm. Previously she had studied at the library, but at some point she began to make strange sounds that focused all the attention of the people gathered in the library on her. She couldn't let Madame Pince throw her out of the library because of her moaning. And Malfoy was to blame for everything, as usual.

It started with him appearing before her out of nowhere, inappropriately dressed and flexing his nearly naked body. After a while it became worse. He had whispered perverted things in her ear while at the same time stroking her thighs with his fingers. He touched her every time he appeared. With only his fingers, he could make shivers crawl over her skin, her nipples harden and her panties wet. So far, nobody else had made her feel that way.

Extremely aroused and excited to the limit, she tried to touch him, but grasped only air because Malfoy melted into mist.

She criticized herself for such thoughts about that guy. He was a nasty Slytherin who, with his malice, poisoned her life for five and a half years. She also knew that Harry suspected him of being a Death Eater. Even if it wasn't the truth, it most likely would be in the near future. Malfoy came from a family that hated people like Hermione; they hated Muggle-born wizards and Muggles. Malfoy's father was imprisoned in Azkaban because he was a Death Eater who fought Hermione and her friends in the Ministry of Magic at the end of the last school year. Malfoy couldn't be interested in her in that way!

Hermione was very annoyed. She sat on her bed, leaning against the headboard and reading her potions textbook. Malfoy's apparition sat next to her. She tried to ignore him, but he began to gently stroke the insides of her thighs, slowly advancing towards the top.

"Why are you ignoring me?" he asked her, and began to blow gently on her ear.

"No!" she screamed, agitated.

"What do you mean 'no'?" asked Parvati, who sat on the bed next to hers.

"Nothing, I just can't come to terms with the fact that you can't combine eye of newt and powdered dragon scales in one potion. Combining their properties would make excellent skin smoothing potion," Hermione replied. She was embarrassed but immediately succeeded to come up with the excuse.

"Really?! It's not fair that you can't do that," Parvati agreed with her, but after a while returned to conjuring up different colors on her nails.

The rest of the evening passed as before, but Malfoy's actions had become increasingly bold, although never crossing a certain limit. If not for her colleagues at the dormitory, Hermione would have begged the boy to go on and touch the most sensitive place between her legs. She wanted him to work his fingers inside her for even just a second if he didn't want to give her everything he could. When she went to sleep, she was both aroused and annoyed. It was irritating her that even though she had never thought about these things before, she now began to dream about hot moments with a bad and annoying Slytherin. She knew that it would never occur because Malfoy was disgusted with Muggle-born wizards, and she was sure that there was no way in this world that he would touch her. Nor did she want to touch him; it was only her body that wanted him. All of this resulted in her being even more frustrated.

Of course, in her sleep she dreamed of Malfoy, and in the morning she woke up very tense. She felt that every part of her body demanded Malfoy and his caresses. In addition to her frustration, she didn't know why all of this was happening, why her nemesis was still there trying to seduce her. Initially, she suspected the effects of a potion that someone had added to her drink. But then she concluded that none of her friends would make such a stupid joke, and lately there had been no Slytherins in close proximity. It had to be something else, but what?

Draco's mood worsened even more from the previous evening. Greengrass had proven to be useless. Her beautiful, shapely body wasn't able to ward off Granger. The Gryffindor had appeared to him even when he was spending time with Astoria. Just as Draco thought, the enamored Slytherin was willing, but because of her lack of experience she just lay on the bed like a log of wood. When he was kissing her neck and shoulders while lying on her, she didn't move even a little bit and didn't utter a sound, provided that she liked what he was doing with her. He was terribly annoyed. Because of the incompetent girl, his thoughts still wandered towards Granger.

"She can't give you what you need," Granger's voice came from the right side of the bed. "If you were with me, you would feel wonderful. I would fulfill your every fantasy." Draco looked at the bed usually occupied by Crabbe. He saw Granger, who was lying on her stomach with her legs bent at the knees. She was wearing a short, half-transparent and airy robe. She didn't have any underwear.

When Draco realized that she spoke for the first time, the apparition stood up and walked over to him. She sat on the edge of his bed and began to kiss his neck while gently passing her fingers across his buttocks. He couldn't turn his head; it felt too good. At one point, the pleasure she gave became so overwhelming that he moaned softly.

"Have I done something wrong?" Astoria asked worriedly. At this point, the boy realized that he completely forgot about her lying underneath him.

"No, you didn't. You are wonderful, but I think we should wait a bit with this," he said.

"But why?" she asked. "I love you and I want this, I'm sure." There was desperation in her voice.

"You are too young. I don't want you to regret it later," he lied. He thought that she was beautiful and he didn't want to offend her, preferring to know that she still would be willing when she got a little bit more experience and he would need her.

"I won't regret it," she tried to convince him. Hermione was sitting on Crabbe's bed with her legs crossed and she was smiling at Draco flirtatiously. At some point, he stopped caring that she was a Mudblood and started to think that it would be better with her than with Astoria.

"When you are older, we will do it. I promise," he said at the same time looking at Hermione.

"I'm so ugly that you prefer to look at empty space than at me?" the Slytherin girl asked. It was her last resort. She hoped that he would deny it, comfort her and make love to her to prove that what he told her was the truth.

Hermione lay on Crabbe's bed, this time on her back, and began to lead her hands along her bent legs, from the ankles up to the thighs. When she got to the edge of her garments, she didn't stop, but slowly started to slip off her robe.

"You're not ugly. But you'd better go now," Draco said, not taking his eyes off Hermione. Soon after, he got up from his bed, releasing Astoria. Tears began to run down Astoria's cheeks. She quickly corrected her robes and ran out of the dormitory.

When Hermione's apparition got rid of the Slytherin girl, she began to lure Draco again. Although she was now touching him and talking to him, she still didn't let him touch her. Hermione appeared many times throughout the night. Each time, she woke up his manhood and didn't let him sleep. In the morning, he was not rested at all.

Now, he sat in class waiting for the potions lesson. He was tense and sleepy. Suddenly, the classroom door opened and Granger entered. At first he wasn't sure if it was a phantom, or the true Gryffindor. After checking her dress and countenance, and the fact that instead of flirtatiously smiling at him she was talking to Potter, Draco concluded that this time it wasn't his imagination. She was not even looking at him.

Suddenly, he felt a terrible anger that she wasn't looking since it was her image that kept provoking him the day before. He knew it was stupid to be angry at the Mudblood for something she hadn't done, but he couldn't help it. Anger then merged into the lust that had been growing in him since the day before. With the last ounce of strength, he forced himself to remain in place. He really wanted to go to her, turn her to face him, then tear off her robes in front of everyone and take her on the table right in front of a shocked Scarhead and Weasley. He thought about how deeply and strongly he would enter her, imagined how she would moan with pleasure beneath him.

"Mr. Malfoy, do you know the answer?" The voice of the old professor took him from the land of fantasy.

"Ahhh ..." Draco started, taken aback. "I'm sorry sir, what was the question?" he asked, still confused.

"I asked in which potions unicorn hair and owl claw can be combined," explained Professor Slughorn.

"I do not know sir," Draco said, and felt his face getting purple.

"In that case, Slytherin loses ten points," said Slughorn with disappointment. "Well, not everyone is such a talent with potions as Mr. Potter and Miss Granger."

The last sentence made Draco boil with anger. He was angry with Slughorn for comparing him to his biggest rivals. He was angry with Potter for coping so well with this year's potions. And he was angry with Granger for purposely pulling his attention away from the lesson to ridicule him. Of course he was aware of the fact that the latter allegation was unfounded, but for what she was doing to him, he would blame her for all the evils of this world. Unfortunately, the desire for her hadn't decreased because of his anger. On the contrary, it increased and was directly proportional to the rage he felt against her. It was a self-reinforcing cycle.

Draco also couldn't concentrate on the following lessons. He couldn't answer the simplest of questions. When Granger was attending his class, he imagined how rapidly he'd enter her, and how she would moan with delight. He knew that if it came to an intimate situation between them, he could prove to her who was the best. She would scream in ecstasy that there was no one beyond Draco Malfoy, and she would recall what he did to her for the rest of her life.

But when the real Granger was not around the apparition came to him and, with her doings, distracted him from his lessons. She whispered that she believed him to be the best, but now he must prove it. He really wanted to do it, but she never gave him a chance and disappeared every time. Draco was beginning to feel that he wouldn't stand it for long. The worst part was that he didn't know what could be done about it. How could he concentrate on his task? He was planning to go to the Room of Requirement that afternoon, and hoped to be able to try out the few spells that he was able to write down the previous day.

It was also a very difficult day for Hermione. Malfoy appeared next to her every now and then. His behavior had reached extremes even before breakfast. Shortly after Hermione took a shower, he appeared behind the naked girl when she stood before the mirror looking at her reflection. He brought his bare, muscular body to her back so that she could feel his swollen manhood pushing against her buttocks. The thrill of excitement ran through her skin. The boy began to pass his hands over her body. At first he drew circles with his fingertips on her stomach, and then ran his fingers up to her breasts. He stroked them as gently as he did her abdomen, starting from the outside and approaching her nipples more and more. When he only touched her nipples, they immediately became as hard as rocks. Finally, he grabbed her breasts in his hands and began to massage them with great tenderness. At the same time, he left butterfly kisses on her neck and whispered that if she wanted, she could prove that she was the best in not just her studies. He said that if she could only let herself to go wild, she would never forget it.

Hermione knew that it was not really Malfoy who was talking to her and touching her. She knew that the real one was now in the dungeons of Slytherin and certainly didn't want her to prove him anything. And it was more possible for him to kill her than touch her. However, the pleasure given to her by the one that stood behind her in the Gryffindor girls' bathroom made her forget and stop caring. She felt that she wanted to show the real Malfoy what she was able to do. Slowly, she started to forget who he was and how he had behaved towards her and her friends so far. The only important thing was how he influenced her senses. When she reached to catch the Slytherin's buttocks, the specter disappeared as usual.

The false Malfoy appeared that day many times, causing her to become more and more aroused. He would make her feel very agitated and then disappeared. For a brief moment, she thought about confessing her problem to Harry and asking him for help in relieving her sexual tension. However, she rejected the idea. First, she concluded that she couldn't use Harry that way, and secondly, she was afraid that Harry would be angry at her for even thinking about the ferret like that.

During lessons with the Slytherins, Hermione used all her willpower not to turn in the direction of the blonde. She didn't look at him even when he tried to answer the teacher's questions. She was afraid that if she did look at him, she wouldn't be able to stop and would run to the bench that Malfoy was occupying and then pounce on him, giving a go to her sexual frustration.

Blaise Zabini observed Malfoy and Granger with great amusement. He had to admit that they were doing really well. So far, no one realized what was happening to them. But Blaise knew the potion was influencing them. He noticed Malfoy's looks of lust towards the Gryffindor, the flush of Hermione's cheeks and her more frequent than usual nervous lip biting. Blaise kept his eye on Malfoy throughout the day, but followed him so discreetly that his friend didn't realize it.

Now, Blaise sat in the Slytherin common room, assuming that Draco was with Crabbe and Goyle and would soon come out of their dormitory to go to the same place where Malfoy had spent so many hours during the last months.

As Blaise predicted, his three colleagues appeared in the common room after a while. Not stopping to talk to friends seated there, they moved towards the exit. When the wall closed behind them, Blaise immediately got up from his chair and walked towards the exit. When he got out and looked around, they were nowhere to be seen. He cursed to himself, thinking that he lost them, but then heard Goyle's guffaw coming from the stairs. He ran in that direction and saw the trio walking up the stairs. Being careful not to betray his presence, he went after them. Malfoy and his henchmen climbed higher and higher. They passed the ground floor, as well as the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors. None of them realized that they were being followed.

Finally, all three of them walked down the hall on the seventh floor. Blaise still followed them while maintaining several meters' distance. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, the hall filled with a group of first year Gryffindors. They seemed to run without rhyme or reason, back and forth, probably playing a game. Zabini didn't mind students playing, but they effectively blocked his way. Blaise cursed to himself once again and when he was still not able to pass through the corridor, he went to the front by pushing the younger students out of his way. Several of them fell on the wall screaming, and a few landed on the stone floor of the castle. Blaise didn't care. He had to catch up with Malfoy.

"Mr. Zabini, would you mind explaining to me what are you doing?!" He heard a woman's voice. It was harsh and demanding. Blaise turned back and saw the silhouette of an angry McGonagall. The boy once again cursed inwardly.

"I'm sorry Professor," he replied. "I'm trying to catch up with my colleagues, and these children are running around blocking the passage."

"It doesn't justify violence against younger students! Slytherin loses ten points, and you get detention. Come along with me to my office," she told him, turning around in the opposite direction of where Zabini was headed. Blaise almost howled with rage, but he knew it was better not to risk ignoring the Deputy Headmistress' command. He started after her with clenched fists and bowed head, wondering at the same time if he had just lost a chance to gain material to blackmail Malfoy.

When Draco entered the Room of Requirement, he spread his notes and sat down in front of the Vanishing Cabinet. He studied them for a moment, and then started to try different spells that he had noted earlier. For two hours he tried to cast spells on the cabinet. He used different combinations of spells and tried to cast them from different angles of incidence, but didn't get any results. Finally, while looking at the front of the closet, he grabbed each of the handles in his hands and opened them wide. At this point, instead of cabinet doors spreading open to him, he saw Granger with her legs spreading wide. The girl was sitting in front of him completely naked and smiling. She was covering the sensitive spot between her legs with one hand.

"Do you want to get a look?" she asked innocently.

"Yes!" he answered quickly and without thinking. The girl peeled away one of the fingers covering her femininity. When Draco shifted slightly towards her, the finger went back to its previous position and she laughed. Her breasts began jumping up and down to the rhythm of her gentle laughter. It was too much for Draco. He threw his weight on her, but before he could catch her, Granger disappeared once again and he fell into the cabinet.

At the same time, one could hear the clatter of a metal object falling to the floor in the corridor. Sunk in his fantasy, Draco didn't hear it. When he finally gathered himself up after the fall, he was not able to erase the image from his memory: Granger covering the view of her femininity and shifting one finger. "I was so close. So close!" he repeated over and over in his mind.

It was after eight o'clock in the evening and the curfew time approached with great strides. Most of the students were already in their common rooms or shared dormitories. Harry and Ron were walking through the empty hallway on the seventh floor of Hogwarts. Harry couldn't stop thinking about Malfoy's sudden disappearances on the Marauder's Map. That evening, he followed Malfoy's movements on the map and saw that the boy disappeared on the seventh floor in the vicinity of the Room of Requirement. Harry persuaded Ron to follow him and check what could have happened with the Slytherin.

Just after dinner, Hermione announced that she had to check something important in the library, so Harry knew she wouldn't go with him. Besides, she still downplayed Malfoy's disappearances and claimed that Harry was exaggerating with his suspicions.

"Don't you think that Hermione is behaving strangely today?" asked Ron, who, like Hermione, was not sure if it made sense to investigate Malfoy's behavior.

"What do you mean? Because she's still not talking to you?" asked Harry.

"No," said Ron with a little annoyance. "Today, she never volunteered to answer the teachers' questions. Not even once. And she used every opportunity to be alone at the dorm or the library," he explained. Subconsciously, he hoped that his friend missed him. Hermione hadn't spoken to Ron for many weeks; she was still too mad at him for dating Lavender. The girl had been bothering Ron with her possessiveness for some time now, but he did not want to give in and admit his mistake in dating Lavender. In addition, he didn't quite know how to get rid of her, how to break up with her. The boy still hoped that Hermione would stretch out her hand to him and the rest of their problems would work out somehow.

"Why does the fact that she spends a lot of time in the library surprise you so much? Are we talking about the same Hermione? You've known her for five and a half years," Harry said indifferently.

"Oh, you know what I mean. She always spends a lot of time there, but ever since yesterday she has only spoken with others during meals in the Great Hall, and even then she is not very talkative," argued Weasley.

"I think you're exaggerating. But if you want, I can talk to her and ask what's going on. But first let us check what Malfoy is plotting. I think the Room of Requirement is a good clue," said Harry, who preferred to focus on tracking Malfoy than on a temporary change of Hermione's mood.

At this point, Harry and Ron passed two first year Ravenclaws. One of the terrified girls dropped a strange object on the ground. It was in the shape of a crossbow but was made of metal, and instead of an arrow, had an oblong, glass vessel filled with sand. The clink of the strange device collapsing on the stone floor echoed throughout the corridor.

"What are you still doing out here at this hour?" asked Ron, who enjoyed the feeling of importance given to him with the prefect's badge. "It's almost curfew. Go back to your common room."

The girls stared, horrified at the two sixth years, and then they looked down the corridor in the direction the boys were heading. Then the girls looked at each other and nodded to Ron without uttering a word.

The boys turned and went on their way to the Room of Requirement. However, they had not gone a few steps when they heard a curse shouted by both girls at the same time.

"_Petrificus__Totalus_," the Ravenclaws cried. Harry and Ron felt the spell hit them on the back at the same time. While they were falling to the hard floor, they still didn't understand what was happening. Their heads were a complete mess. "Why did the first years petrify them and where did they learn such a spell?" both boys wondered. But Harry and Ron couldn't exchange remarks or catch the girls to ask them why they did this, because they were completely paralyzed.

"What are we going to do with them? If anyone finds them here, we are screwed," one of the girls said when they approached the immobile boys.

"I do not know Gregory. We should've asked Malfoy," replied the other, forgetting that although the Full Body-Bind Curse paralyzed the body completely, the victim could still hear and see. At this point, Harry realized what must have happened. The first year Ravenclaws were actually sixth year Slytherins: Draco Malfoy's bodyguards. Malfoy was doing something illegal in the Room of Requirement, and they impersonated first years to beon the lookout. Ron realized the same thing and they both felt a stabbing fear. They were completely defenseless. Crabbe and Goyle could come up with different ideas of what to do with their immobilized bodies. Harry could still remember what happened in September on the train. He couldn't forgive himself for letting it happen a second time, and of all people, it had to be by those morons.

The two attackers began to look around.

"I know!" one of the girls said. Harry and Ron guessed it was Goyle. "We'll leave them there!" she exclaimed delightedly, and pointed to an open classroom. Immediately, the face of the second one lightened with a goofy smile. Crabbe grabbed Harry's armpits while Goyle did the same with Ron. Unfortunately, they were in the bodies of eleven-year-old girls and they possessed the strength of said girls, not their own.

"Help me," ordered Crabbe. Goyle let go of Ron, who once again fell to the stone floor with a loud thud. Goyle grabbed Harry's legs and the Slytherins brought him into the classroom with combined forces.

"Leave them there," Goyle pointed with his head to the alcove at the back of the classroom, which was completely veiled by shadow. "If we're lucky, no one will find them there for several days."

"Great idea," Crabbe agreed with him, and they both carried Harry to the end of the classroom. They left him standing and facing the entranceso that Harry had a view of the room, but was completely hidden.

When Crabbe and Goyle finished, they went back, brought Ron to the classroom, and put him next to Harry.

"So what do we do now?" asked Goyle.

"We'd better get out of here," his friend said. "Malfoy's probably finished and returned to the dungeons."

Goyle nodded and they both left the classroom.

A few minutes later, completely obsessed with thinking about Hermione, Draco Malfoy came out of the Room of Requirement and launched towards the dungeons. On his way, he passed the place where he had left Goyle and Crabbe. "Well of course you can't depend on those idiots!" he thought when he didn't find them there. He began to look around for them.

And then he saw her. She was walking towards him from the direction of the stairs. He wasn't sure if this was the true Granger or an apparition, but then she saw him and smiled gently. She was still walking towards him so that only a few steps separated them...

Hermione walked towards Gryffindor Tower with her mind occupied by so many thoughts. She was returning from the library where she had failed to find anything about the visions that haunted her. She had to stop her research because the library hours had elapsed. When she was on the seventh floor and almost passing the corridor where the Room of Requirement was, she saw Malfoy. He stood there and was looking around. Occupied with his thoughts, he looked as attractive as in each of her visions.

At that point, he noticed her, and in his eyes she saw the same desire from the previous day. The girl immediately felt excitement and smiled slightly at the thought of what was awaiting her. She walked over to him and he didn't move from his spot. He just stood still, looking at her.

Watching the blush appear on her cheeks, Draco felt that he needed to see her bare breasts and her femininity again, and he wouldn't let her cover herself this time. He forgot that she could disappear at any time and that the decision about what was going to happen didn't belong to him.

He approached her, took her by the waist with his right hand and pulled her to him. For the first time, she didn't disappear and he felt her full breasts against his chest and her shapely buttocks under his fingers. Not believing his luck, he sank his mouth onto hers, and when she parted her lips, he slid his tongue into her mouth and began to explore it. Their tongues united and began to tease and touch each other. The last sensible thought he had was to pull the girl to the open and empty classroom a few feet away. When they were inside, Draco sat Hermione on one of the benches.

Hearing footsteps and movement outside the classroom, Harry hoped for a split second that rescue had come. But then two entwined figures burst into the room and Harry recognized his best friend and Draco Malfoy. Terrified, he thought that Malfoy had attacked the girl, and now she was struggling to get free. Harry tried, by all means, to oppose the power of the paralyzing spell and help Hermione, but his limbs were still as motionless as stone.

Then, when Malfoy started to kiss her neck feverishly while trying at the same time to unbutton her robes, Harry realized that not only did Hermione not fight him, she totally condoned his behavior and even demanded it.

At the same time, Ron had the impression that he was in some kind of nightmare. What he was seeing was too surreal and unbelievable. He watched in horror as Malfoy tried to strip Hermione's clothes while she was spreading the Slytherin's robes with equal fury.

Neither Hermione nor Draco knew if it was happening in their heads or in reality.

The sensation was so intense and clear that they both began to suspect that what they were doing was very real. However, that distinction was no longer important. They were here with the person they wanted more than anything in the world. For a brief moment, the idea that someone could see them because it was not yet past curfew ran through Draco's head. He knew that if someone caught them, rumors would spread through the castle at a rapid pace, because everybody knew how the two of them hated each other. Furthermore, when Draco realized that what was happening was real, he thought that he should ask Granger for a contraceptive potion. He hadn't foreseen this situation and didn't have any with him. But he decided not to say anything about it. He was afraid that if she didn't have the potion with her, she would change her mind and run away the second she was reminded about it. He couldn't wait any longer. Besides, a similar opportunity might never happen again.

Hermione thought exactly the same thing, and like Draco, she also couldn't and didn't want to wait any longer. She had never thought about it because she had never needed one before , but now she regretted that wizards had never invented such a thing as a contraceptive spell. "Come what may," she thought. "I can't wait any longer."

Harry and Ron watched how hastily she was undressing Malfoy, as if in that moment nothing else mattered to her.

She finally managed to take off his robes and now he was standing next to her, naked from the waist up. His chest, stomach and arms looked exactly like in her visions: beautifully carved and smooth. Even the dark mark appearing on his left forearm didn't scare her.

Although Harry and Ron couldn't see the dark mark because they could only watch Malfoy's right profile, the image that loomed in front of their eyes seemed, to them, absolutely unreal.

Harry could see everything as if in slow motion, as if he were under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.

When Ron realized that what he was seeing with his own eyes was very real, various terrible feelings filled him: from pain, through anger, then to a sense of betrayal.

While unbuttoning Granger's shirt, Draco lost his patience at some point and just pulled it up to gain access to her bra. Once he got to it, he pulled one of the cups aside and drew one of her breasts out. When he saw a round, pink nipple, he took it into his mouth and start caressing it with his tongue. At the same time, Hermione coped with his belt and unzipped his trousers. His pants fell to the ground.

Neither Hermione nor Draco said a single word to each other, as if fearing that any word could interrupt what was going on. The only things heard were moans, grunts, and the sounds of sucking and kissing lips.

Harry still tried to resist the power of the spell restraining him. He wanted to stop what he was seeing. He wanted to run to Hermione and ask what she was doing.

Ron's anger at the girl was growing and growing. He wondered how she could do something like this with their worst enemy.

While Hermione slid her hand into Draco's boxers, he stroked her thigh, moving deeper and deeper under her skirt. When he reached her panties, he grabbed it in his hands. She raised her hips slightly to help him and he slid her panties off with one swift move. He pulled away from her and threw the panties aside. When she went to grab him and draw him closer to once again feel his mouth on her breast, he smiled and stopped her. When she leaned back on her elbows, he grabbed her knees and forced her to open her thighs wide. He stared, fascinated at her femininity. It was moist and the lips were swollen and pink. The view he desired for so long hypnotized him completely. A shiver of excitement ran through Hermione's back.

At this point, Ron came to the conclusion that if the girl didn't feel embarrassment and discomfort when a Slytherin was watching the most intimate parts of her body, it meant that this meeting couldn't be the first one. Hermione had already been hanging out with the Slytherin. Perhaps this was Malfoy's secret.

It seemed strange to Hermione that she felt absolutely no shame. On the contrary, it even excited her that Malfoy was interested in her femininity.

After a moment, Draco felt as if some kind of force pulled him closer to the girl and the space between her legs. He approached her, and when his mouth only slightly touched her pussy lips, she moaned louder than before. This encouraged him even more. He began to suck on her lower lips, and then jostled her clitoris with his tongue. Finally, he slid his tongue inside, between the folds. He was sinking into her with his mouth and tongue, trying to suck all the moisture of her excitement. Just before Hermione's arousal reached its zenith and she was getting closer to fulfillment, Draco pulled away and, once again, clung to her mouth.

When he kissed her and his hands caressed both of her exposed breasts, Hermione reached for the edge of his boxers and slid them down, releasing his swollen member. She moved away from the boy, looked lustfully at his manhood and licked her upper lip. His manhood was even bigger than she expected. She had no experience in this matter because this was the first boy she saw completely naked, but even if she had she would still be impressed by the Slytherin's pecker. It was certainly at least eight inches long and half thicker than average (according to the book she once accidentally found and leafed through). She touched it with her fingertips, then grabbed it with her whole hand and drove her thumb on the head. The boy groaned, and she pulled him to her with the other hand. She set his manhood right before the entrance to her depths. She felt the head of his member touching the petals of her womanhood, swollen with excitement. He groaned once again and looked into her eyes.

Then he bowed his head and began to penetrate her without taking his gray eyes off of her womanhood. She was so excited that she didn't even think about the pain of her first time. She wasn't thinking about whom she was giving her virginity to. What mattered was only to finally feel him inside of her. When he was tearing the barrier and his huge member was broadening her tight insides, she felt no pain, only excitement that she was doing what she wanted so much, and what seemed impossible to her only a few minutes ago.

When he entered her entirely, she felt strangely complete, as if someone gave her part of her body that she didn't even know she was missing. While she embraced his waist with her legs, he put his arms on her back. Then she intertwined her hands around his neck. When he began to move slowly, his lips went to her mouth and sank onto it. His every move made them feel incredible pleasure, which kept growing. Only moans and grunts of satisfaction could be heard in the room.

When she was moaning under Malfoy with pleasure, Ron felt like nails were digging into his flesh with every sound released by her. She was close to his heart, sometimes he thought that she was closer than a friend, and now she was acting like a horny Slytherin girl, like Parkinson. If only Ron could move or say something, he would start to scream with anger at the situation and Hermione. He would call her the worst existing insults. He didn't understand how she could behave like that towards their enemy, a Death Eater. As he stood frozen and forced to watch, he would do anything to be able to look away. He didn't want to look at it, did not want to hear it. He tried, with all of his force, to resist the influence of the Body-Binding Curse: to clog his ears, close his eyes and escape as fast as he could from this classroom. He felt tears of grief and anger in his eyes and his throat got dry.

At the same time, Harry wondered how it happened, how it was possible that he and Ron saw something like that before their own eyes. He still couldn't believe that Hermione was acting of her own will. In addition to it all, a strange feeling was growing in his own abdomen. It was a force that wanted to break free but, due to a spell, couldn't. Harry really didn't want to feel arousal at such a terrible time, but he was only a teenager. So he began to imagine himself and Ginny in a similar situation. Ron also felt a growing arousal, but it was muted by the anger and pain he felt.

At some point, Malfoy suddenly sped up, making Hermione moan even louder. Now, he was thrusting into her rapidly and as deeply as possible. He was decompressing the frustration that had built up in him from the day before.

The pleasure that Hermione felt was almost on the verge of pain. She had the impression that his big prick, which was rhythmically stretching her, would tear her apart in any moment. But she didn't mind. On the contrary, she wanted him to delve into her more deeply and rapidly. She felt as if it was bringing her closer to a different state of consciousness. She moved closer and closer until she felt a wave of ecstasy flooding her completely. It was the most wonderful feeling that she had ever experienced in her life.

When Draco felt her muscles rhythmically tightening around his dick and only the lingering sounds of climax were coming from her, he sped up even more and, in a few seconds, joined the girl in her fulfillment. Hermione felt a huge stream of his seed spurt inside of her, filling her completely.

When Draco finally felt like all the pressure from the previous day was released with his climax, he was filled with an emotion of happiness that he had never felt before. The experience had never been so strong, so overwhelming.

For a moment, they both felt absolute bliss. She clung to him even harder, and he embraced her even stronger than before. But after a few seconds, as if on command, they broke away from each other and their frightened eyes met. They realized what they had just done and with whom. The potion had stopped working and they were no longer under its influence.

They still didn't utter a word. They were both in shock, which prevented them from thinking rationally. They only knew that they had done something very wrong.

Harry and Ron were already in such a mental state that they couldn't see the terrified faces of Hermione and Malfoy.

Hermione was the first to pull out of the numbness. She jumped down from the bench, quickly corrected her bra and blouse, and found and put on her panties and robes.

During this time, Draco stared at her dumbfounded. When she ran out into the hallway, he stood there completely naked for a moment, not knowing what to think or do. Only after a while did he get dressed and walked towards his dormitory.

Neither Hermione nor Draco realized that they were being watched the whole time. At the end of the room in a dark alcove, Harry and Ron still couldn't get over what they had seen with their own eyes. If someone told them about it, they certainly wouldn't believe him. How was it possible that Hermione, their best friend, was sleeping with their greatest enemy in the school? How did she move from feeling hatred for him to having the role of his mistress? They both felt that their world had collapsed.

When it was all over, Ron still felt the pain of being betrayed and cheated. But after a while he began to analyze the situation. He felt anger swell increasingly in him. He could forgive her when she conjured birds to attack him, but having any ties with Malfoy was too much.

In Harry's head, questions like "why" and "how is that possible" still rang out.

Concerned about the absence of Harry, Ron and Hermione, Ginny decided to find them. When she searched through all the places that they visited frequently, she returned to Gryffindor Tower and went straight to the boys' dormitory. She found the Marauder's Map and soon spotted Harry and Ron. Hermione was nowhere to be seen. Ginny took the map with her and headed in their direction.

The girl moved quietly and slowly, because it was already late at night and Filch could catch her. It would end with a punishment and reduction of points from Gryffindor. When Ginny got to the classroom, she didn't notice them at first. But then she went to the back, where she saw them on the map, and she found them frozen in a dark alcove.

"_Finite__Incantatem_," she said, pointing her wand at them. "What are you doing here? How did this happen?" she asked. But Harry and Ron were still distressed by what they had seen and they didn't know how to answer.

Between Malfoy's desertion and Ginny's rescue, Ron cursed Hermione in his mind and wondered why she did what she did. He was angry that she had attacked him for going out with Lavender while she was doing something much worse. Then he began to wonder if maybe she did it in order to take revenge on him for his relationship with Lavender. "But then, why would she hide it?" he wondered. It was all totally pointless.

At the same time, Harry couldn't forgive Hermione for choosing Malfoy: the one who had immobilized him on their way to Hogwarts in September, the same person who was trying to carry out a task assigned to him by Voldemort. How could she!?

When Ginny didn't get the answer to her first question, she turned her attention to Hermione's absence and the fact that she couldn't find her on the map.

"Do you know where Hermione is?" she asked.

"No!" snapped Ron. He didn't know if they should tell Ginny about what they saw. He came to the conclusion that he should talk about it with Harry first. "We'd better go back to Gryffindor Tower," he said and left the classroom.

On the way back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry, Ron, and Ginny spoke only about how they were immobilized by Malfoy's henchmen. The boys didn't mention anything about how they watched the blonde and Hermione while they couldn't move. Ginny felt that it was not everything, but didn't know how she could get the whole truth from them. She decided to give up, coming to the conclusion that if it was something important they would have told her.


	3. Consequences

**ASJS** thank you for your review. It means a lot to me. I hope it won't be my last review

Chapter 3

**Consequences**

After Hermione left Malfoy in the empty classroom, she ran to the Room of Requirement to think about everything that happened. She sat down on a chair that appeared at her request, pulled her knees up under her chin and began to gently sway back and forth. She wanted to go back in time, to turn the events of that evening. A time turner came to her mind, but unfortunately she didn't have hers anymore and there was no chance of getting a new one.

Unable to reverse what happened, Hermione wanted to forget about everything that she had done, but she knew that casting an _Obliviate_ at herself would be too dangerous.

Although she wanted to cuddle up to someone who was dear to her and wanted that person to tell her that everything would be fine and that he would reverse what had happened, she didn't want to talk to any Gryffindors yet and explain her situation. She especially didn't want to share with them what she had done with Malfoy. She knew that her friends wouldn't be able to solve the problem. Besides, she didn't know how to tell anyone about what she had done of her own free will. How would she pronounce these terrible words: I had sex with Draco Malfoy. In that abandoned classroom she saw the dark mark on his forearm and knew she wouldn't be able to tell anyone without mentioning the circumstances in which she had seen it. The tears ran down her cheeks. She didn't even try to hold them back; she only wiped them with her sleeve every now and then.

When the shock passed and Hermione calmed down a little, she began to reflect on the events of the past two days. By analyzing in detail what had happened, she came to the conclusion that her first suspicions were correct and she had fallen victim to some unknown potion. It couldn't be any spell, because she knew that according to Terence Blyth's book, it was not possible to create spells that affected human feelings and desires. One could create a love potion, or a potion causing appetite for food, but it wasn't possible to create such a spell. It must have been similar when dealing with lust.

She suspected that she wasn't the only sufferer. When she remembered the look on Malfoy's face after what they did, she realized that he was just as scared of his actions as she was with hers. "Who would do such a thing?" she wondered.

Initially, she wanted to meet up with Malfoy and analyze the situation together, but came to the conclusion that she wouldn't be able to talk to him about what had happened. She was terribly ashamed and afraid that his malicious comments would worsen the case. For the first time in her life she decided not to drill into getting the truth, she wanted only to forget. But could she forget something so important, so traumatic? She didn't know yet, but decided to try.

When it was after midnight, tired of crying and pondering about what had happened, Hermione returned to Gryffindor Tower. To her great relief, she didn't meet any of her colleagues because all of them were already in their beds. Also, in her dormitory she found Parvati and Lavender fast asleep. Relieved that she didn't have to talk to anyone and pretend that everything was okay, Hermione lay down and almost immediately fell asleep.

Draco stormed into the Slytherin common room. Without a word, he passed the Slytherins who greeted him and went straight to his dorm room where he found Crabbe and Goyle.

"Where did you disappear to?! I told you to wait for me!" he shouted with anger.

"We thought you already went to the dormitory while we were busy with Scarhead and Redhead," Crabbe explained with a mouthful of cookies.

"What do you mean?" Malfoy asked, a little bit concerned.

"Well, when we were making sure that no one bothered you, they came upon us. We overheard that they were going to the Room of Requirement. We were unable to stop them, so as you said, we cast _Petrificus Totalus_ on them. Then we left them in an empty classroom. It's possible that tomorrow they won't take part in classes," added Crabbe, who was very proud of himself and smiled as broadly as it was possible with a mouth still full of cookies.

"Well, we'll see. Next time, don't go anywhere until I tell you," Draco instructed, without linking to the possibility that Gryffindors were watching him and Granger the whole time.

Leaving his colleagues in the dormitory, Draco immediately ran to the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror and looked at his own reflection. He had never felt such disgust for himself. He looked at his mouth and realized that it so recently touched a Mudblood's femininity. He examined his tongue and, for a moment, he felt that he wanted to cut it off. Draco grabbed his toothbrush and put a profuse amount of toothpaste on it. Then he began to brush his teeth and the rest of his mouth. He put so much force into it that soon his gums began to bleed. Despite all that, he still had the feeling that his mouth was defiled, but Draco was no longer able to scrub his mouth because of the pain. Also, the feeling that he was still dirty did not leave the boy, so now he decided to take care of his body.

He quickly took off his clothes, threw them on the floor and pointed his wand at the stack of garments.

"_Incendio_," he cried, and the pile of clothes caught fire.

When the clothes tainted with Granger's touch were completely burned, Draco poured water into the tub and added the entire bottle of bath soap to the water. He stepped into the tub, grabbed a sponge and began to scrub his body. Pressing hard with the generously soapy sponge, Draco performed rapid movements over his body. After a while, almost all of his skin was reddened and Draco started to feel the ache. He interrupted his treatment only when the scratchy side of the sponge began to slowly peel the skin and the pain became too difficult to bear.

He tore the sponge from his abdomen and looked down at his penis. He felt immense disgust when he remembered that his cock had penetrated Granger's insides. He grabbed it in one hand and looked at his other palm, which was holding the sponge. He knew what he should do, but realizing that the pain would be even greater than when he scrubbed the rest of the body, he hesitated for a moment. Then he sniffed, put the sponge to his member and began to rub slowly. He had never felt such pain. He thought that he would rather die now than live this torture. However, he continued to scrub. He had to get rid of all of Granger's trace from his body. He had to efface her touch and smell. Although he sat in the tub full of scented bubble bath, he still had the feeling that he could smell Granger's scent.

Finally, when he began to reach downwards to scrub his testis, he realized he was no longer able to stand the pain. He put the sponge down, rinsed himself and left the bath. When he stood in front of the mirror and looked at his reflection again, he still felt dirty. All these efforts were of no avail. He still had the horrible feeling that wouldn't leave him ever since he came to stand naked in an empty classroom; a feeling that he was filthy and polluted. Having no other ideas to get rid of this feeling, he dressed in his night clothes and walked out of the bathroom.

Draco returned to the dormitory, threw himself on the bed and began to think about what had happened. He lay with his hands behind his head and stared blankly at the ceiling. He couldn't understand how he could copulate with the Mudblood. Even if he could forget that she was a Mudblood, he couldn't say that she was the type of beauty he liked. But he remembered her origins and in spite of what he believed, he did something so disgusting. He had never approached a half-blood girl, or more so a Mudblood, even if she was very beautiful.

He had never had a dilemma in this regard. It was a simple matter: if she was not a pure-blood, she didn't exist for him in that sense. Despite their beauty, they were slimy and unworthy of touching him, and as a Malfoy he could not stoop to their level. Besides, it would be a betrayal of the blood! He didn't know why he did something like that with the Mudblood. He had never felt such disgust for himself.

In contrast to what had been happening to him recently, the thought of sex with Granger didn't arouse him a bit or cause even the slightest excitement. Like two days earlier, it only awoke hatred and disgust. In considering this puzzle, he came to the conclusion that he had been under the influence of some powerful lust potion or spell. But who would do such a thing to him?

He began to think hard, but nothing came to his mind. For a long time before falling asleep, Draco still troubled himself about what he had done with the Mudblood. Even the thought that it wasn't his fault couldn't improve his mood. He felt like someone who got dirty with a disgusting substance that couldn't be washed away with any potion or spell. Although he had to admit that the physical pleasure that he had felt with the girl was exceptional and incomparable to anything he had experienced so far, at this point he was sure that it was due to the potion's influence. As a result, the memory of the events didn't affect the feeling of disgust and hatred that had always dominated his every thought about her. He was mad at himself and Granger, and especially at the person who did this to him. Draco knew that what he did was wrong, but what this person had done was even worse.

While returning to the Gryffindor Tower in silence, Harry and Ron again and again remembered the event that they witnessed in an empty classroom.

When they were in Gryffindor Tower, Ginny left them alone and went to her dormitory. The boys sat on their beds, still not saying a word to each other. Because of the shock they were in, they couldn't speak out loud even one word about what happened.

Finally, after many minutes, Harry broke the silence. "I think he gave her some kind of potion."

"Do you really want to tell me that you believe that?" asked Ron. "While being a second year student, she could protect herself from being killed by the basilisk. And she always warns you about Romilda Vane and a supposed love potion that she wants to give you. Hermione would have noticed if someone wanted to do the same to her," he continued. "Besides, Malfoy or any of his colleagues could only give Hermione a potion while eating in the Great Hall, and then someone from Gryffindor would have noticed the suspicious activity for sure. Can you see that now it all fits together?"

"What fits?" Harry still didn't understand.

"They've been doing it for a long time," Ron explained.

"What do you mean?" asked the dark-haired boy once again.

"This is Malfoy's secret. They meet behind our backs. That's why she didn't do anything to be with me. I thought that she would do something and I would break up with Lavender. It would be easier if Hermione declared she wanted to be with me. But I was stupid to hope, because she was seeing Malfoy all this time."

"Hermione would never do anything like that!" Harry was indignant and tried to get up. Ron grabbed his wrist.

"But it's true," said Ron with emphasis. "You said she still defends him and says you're exaggerating when you claim that Malfoy is up to something," he said angrily. "She was afraid that, by chance, you would discover her dirty secret," he argued. "Do you remember when the Ferret invaded Slughorn's party? You thought he followed you, but I think that he really wondered what Hermione was doing. She didn't want us to know that she cheated on us by seeing Malfoy, and decided to go to the party with that idiot McLaggen. Like a smokescreen, you know? Malfoy was jealous and followed her. I think they may have been a couple for a long time."

At this point, Harry started to contemplate. He recalled a conversation he overheard two days earlier in the library.

"Mate, what's up?" Ron asked, concerned about him when Harry was silent for a long time.

"This is something very strange. Recently, I overheard by accident a talk between Hermione and Malfoy. I thought that I misunderstood something, because I hadn't heard the whole conversation. I downplayed it, but now I don't know." Harry repeated everything he heard at the library a few days earlier.

"But Hermione is not a pure-blood, and it seems unlikely that she planned to lure you to the ministry," stated a confused Ron.

"That's what I don't understand. We met her parents and we both know that they are Muggles to the bone. Oh and I also somehow don't want to believe the story about Kreacher. One thing is certain: something stinks here, and Hermione has a secret from us."

"How can we trust her now?" Ron was worried.

"We need to discover what's going on. Until then, we won't talk to her because we don't know what she repeats to the Ferret. We can't tell anyone about what we saw until we know what's going on," concluded Harry.

"You're right. Just remember, don't let Hermione tell you some fairy tales," Ron said, and his fists clenched in anger.

"I won't speak to her or listen to her. She won't pull the wool over my eyes," Harry promised.

The next day Hermione entered the Great Hall. Harry and Ron were sitting in their regular places and eating breakfast. As usual, Hermione sat down next to Harry.

"Hi," she greeted everyone. "Harry, why didn't you wait for me, as we agreed?" she asked. The boy didn't answer. "Has something happened?" She started to worry.

"We won't discuss it here!" said Ron furiously. At this point, Harry nudged his friend with an elbow.

"I didn't ask you, but Harry!" she replied furiously, looking at Ron. She was still angry at him for Lavender. The thought that if Ron didn't treat her like this, nothing would have happened with Malfoy flashed through her head. Of course she knew it wasn't true, but blaming someone for what had happened brought her some relief.

"We won't discuss it with you," replied Harry.

"I don't understand." She was surprised.

"You don't understand!? You do not understand!?" Ron got angry. "But we understand everything. We saw you yesterday in an empty classroom with Malfoy," he added, a lot quieter now. Absolute horror painted Hermione's face.

"Ron!" Harry stopped his friend.

"I will explain everything to you. It's not like you think," she tried to defend herself, the expression of dismay never leaving her face.

"No, you don't have to explain anything. Everything is clear for us," said Ron, then he got up from the table, pulling Harry's arm.

Hermione stared at her friends but did not try to stop them. When they left the room, she noticed questioning glances from the rest of the Gryffindors. She ignored them, however, and got up from the table and left. She felt tears gathering in her eyes again. Harry and Ron knew all about it. "But how?" she wondered. "If they know what I have done, I've lost not only Ron, but Harry as well because he will never forgive me. If he only would listen to me," she thought.

Shortly after detention with McGonagall, Blaise deluded himself into thinking that perhaps Malfoy didn't meet Granger, and that he still had a chance to win material compromising Draco. However, the hope soon began to leave him.

Later that same evening, while he sat in the Slytherin Common Room, the blond entered rapidly. There was no doubt that he was very nervous and scared about something. Although his characteristic smirk was on his face, his eyes were far from showing an indifferent expression. Malfoy didn't greet anyone and headed straight to the dormitory.

However, Blaise decided not to prejudge anything. He considered that he would confirm his suspicions only by watching the Mudblood and Malfoy. That's why, when he showed up for breakfast the next day, he looked at the Gryffindor table searching for Granger. She wasn't there, so he sat down at the Slytherin table next to Malfoy so that he could watch Malfoy and the Gryffindor table at the same time. Blaise noticed that Malfoy was clearly upset about something. He wasn't involved in discussions at the table and the whole time he avoided the eyes of his colleagues, glaring at his own plate. He acted as if he was ashamed of something, and Blaise took this as another rationale that Malfoy shagged Granger and now he was so abashed that he was not able to look into the eyes of his friends.

Moments later, Blaise saw Granger, who had just walked into the Great Hall. The girl immediately headed for the Gryffindor table. Blaise noted that she tried to avoid looking in the direction of the Slytherin table at all costs, as if she was afraid to see someone out there. Blaise was already almost certain that Granger and Draco shagged, but decided to observe the Gryffindor for a moment more, hoping to gain an absolute certitude.

The girl sat in her usual spot next to Potter and Blaise noticed that Potter and Weasley were clearly angry at her about something. "Had she told them about what she did with Malfoy and they resented her?" Blaise wondered. At this point, Granger and her friends quarreled, after which an outraged Potter and Weasley left the Great Hall.

For a moment Blaise watched Granger and Malfoy, and every minute confirmed his suspicions that they were no longer under the influence of the lust potion. Zabini came to the conclusion that his last chance was to dare Malfoy to admit the truth. However he knew he had to be careful, because Malfoy was smart and could easily deduct that it was he who stood behind what had happened to him the previous day. Malfoy's revenge would certainly be cruel.

"All yesterday evening you were not in the common room. Did you have a more interesting occupation than talking with your colleagues," Blaise asked Draco, turning his head from Granger.

"You talk as if you didn't know that I have the task for the Dark Lord," Malfoy snapped. "But you have enough free time. Did you finish an essay for me?"

"I did. Did you really spend the whole evening fulfilling this mission?" Blaise didn't know how to dare Malfoy while not revealing that he was responsible for what Draco had done with Granger. "Or maybe you were with a girl?"

"Where did this idea come from?"

"Well, you know, none of the Slytherin girls have boasted that they shagged you for a while, and you're a guy and you've got your needs. I think you have been with a girl from outside Slytherin House. "

"I don't know what you are talking about," Draco responded immediately, and his face didn't betray a hint of uncertainty or confusion.

Blaise decided not to continue the topic and considered that he must find some other way to stop Malfoy from blackmailing him.

His first thought was to use the potion again, but he decided that without the element of surprise, he wouldn't reap much. He was sure that Malfoy would now watch his drinks very carefully, and adding anything wouldn't be possible. And even if by some miracle Blaise was able to slip the potion again, Malfoy would certainly look for Snape's help. While Blaise read that there was no antidote for the potion, Snape could know something more about it. Besides, the Head of Slytherin House would certainly carry out an investigation and if he discovered who gave the potion to Malfoy, Blaise could only pack his trunk and go home.

Blaise decided that now he would watch Malfoy very carefully and perhaps he could find another solution.

The next day, it turned out that Weasley was in the hospital wing because someone tried to poison him. For a moment Blaise forgot about his observation and, like all the other students, gossiped about how it had happened.

But the following day he returned to his observations, and although he didn't formulate any new plan, he noticed some interesting things. He noted that relations between Granger and Potter (Weasley as well, when he eventually returned from the hospital wing) worsened drastically. Granger still tried to talk to her friends, but they didn't express the slightest desire to talk to her and completely ignored her. Blaise saw her more and more often in the company of Weasley's younger sister, who tried to play the role of peacemaker in the conflict.

Granger and Draco still avoided looking at each other, as if afraid that every glance would reveal their secret.

Granger only looked at Malfoy for the first time after two weeks. Never before could Blaise remember seeing the girl look at Draco Malfoy with such an expression. According to Blaise, her face was full of some kind of anxiety and she looked like she was about to puke the breakfast she was eating. Blaise thought it was really unfitting because it was she who was the Mudblood and it was Malfoy who should feel disgusted.

Blaise didn't think about it any longer, but he began to notice that Granger glanced more and more often at Malfoy. Almost every time it was accompanied by the same expression.

At the same time Malfoy, despite the fact that a month had passed from him getting the potion, still didn't look in the direction of the Mudblood, as if trying to completely ignore her existence. Blaise understood completely.

Hermione did her best to explain the situation to Harry and Ron. She tried to talk to them, but they avoided her whenever they could. The only moments where they spent time together were the ones in the classroom, the Great Hall or the Gryffindor common room. In each of these situations, they were surrounded by other students and it wasn't possible to talk so that no one unauthorized heard them. When Hermione learned about the attempt to poison Ron, she wanted to visit him in the hospital wing and make sure he was okay, but Harry wouldn't let her see him.

Hermione was also worried about Harry's lessons with Dumbledore. She wanted to know how well they were going. She wondered if Harry and Dumbledore discovered something important and if she could help her friend in some way. But now, when the boy was completely cut off from her, there was no such possibility.

During these few weeks, Hermione felt very lonely. Although she talked with other colleagues from school, they didn't know her as well as Harry and Ron, and the girl missed them dearly. She became closer to Ginny, who tried to persuade her brother and boyfriend to talk to Hermione, but they didn't want to hear about it. Ginny asked them to tell her what was going on, but both sides flatly refused to give her explanations. Harry and Ron didn't want to acquaint Ginny with what happened. They wanted to discover the truth first. On the other hand, Hermione was afraid that if she confessed to Ginny what happened, she would lose her friendship as well.

Hermione hated the whole situation. What she experienced in the last few weeks was too much for one person and as it turned out, was only the beginning of her problems. Thinking about her hopeless position, Hermione tucked a letter that she wrote a while ago into an envelope. The decision she was making was one of the hardest in her life, but she didn't see any other way out. She got up and went to the Owlery. The girl had to send a letter because passing the message over to the recipient in any other way was impossible. She couldn't approach him and just say that she wanted to talk to him, because he wouldn't even want to listen.

The students gathered in the Great Hall were focused on their plates when a flock of owls flew inside. The birds circulated beneath the ceiling and then landed by the recipients of their letters. One of the school owls sat down at the Slytherin table in front of Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be very surprised. He didn't expect any letter, especially one brought by a school owl. Before the bird interrupted him, Draco was thinking about his continuous failures to fix the Vanishing Cabinet and remove the only person who protected Potter and was capable of standing up to the Dark Lord. It annoyed Draco that the poison had failed in the same way as the necklace.

He also thought about the events in the empty classroom. After these past few weeks, he still couldn't come to terms with what he did.

Malfoy held out his hand in the direction of the owl and untied the letter from its leg. He opened and read it.

_We need to talk about something very important. Please don't ignore this message, because our lives depend on it. Believe me, I wouldn't bother you in any case if it wasn't a matter of the utmost importance._

_Meet me today at 9pm in the same classroom as a month ago._

_HG_

Both the letter and the sender surprised him. He didn't have time to meet with anyone, especially with Granger. But he came to the conclusion that she must have a really good reason to write a letter to him. If his life depended on it, he couldn't risk it. He decided to find out what was going on with the Mudblood and if it was bullshit, she would regret it.

When evening came, Draco went to the appointed place. The girl was waiting for him. They entered the classroom and Hermione walked around checking every nook and cranny, as if fearing that someone might overhear them.

"Tell me quickly what's going on, because I don't have time for this," the impatient boy finally snapped. He leaned on one of the benches and folded his arms across his chest. Hermione stood in front of him and took a similar pose.

"It's better for you to sit down first," she told him.

"There is no need. I want to get it over with quickly," he snapped.

"As you wish. But don't tell me I didn't warn you. I asked you for this meeting because I need your help," she began with hesitance.

"Are you kidding?! Don't count on it that I'll help you with anything!" Draco interrupted her, his face breaking into his characteristic smirk.

"Shut up and listen!" she silenced him. "I don't know how to start. It's about what happened in this classroom," she added with a shaky whisper.

"So you liked it and you want more? In your place, I wouldn't count on it. I was under the influence of some potion, but now I won't be so easy to approach," he taunted her, and his smirk appeared again.

"You asshole! I'm pregnant!" she spat, annoyed with his remarks. At first, Draco didn't understand what she just told him. Her words didn't reach him fully. When he finally realized what she was talking about, absolute shock appeared on his face and his legs buckled under him. At this point, he wished he had taken her advice and sat down before she announced the good news. He felt like he was in his worst nightmare.

After a while, he started to think clearly and realized that they actually didn't use any protection, and then he even remembered how irrelevant it felt in that moment. "No! It's impossible! What am I going to do? Not only have I stained myself with mud, but this! It's a death sentence for me!" Thoughts began to whirl in his head. At this point, the issue of early fatherhood wasn't the problem. It was more important who the mother of his child was.

He become even paler than usual, and madness and horror appeared in his eyes. Hermione had never seen him show his feelings so openly. Of course when he challenged and teased her she could see the hatred, but then he absolutely knew what he wanted to communicate and monitored his reactions. Now, pure and uncontrolled emotions could be seen. The girl watched his terrified face and waited for Malfoy to say something, to comment on what he had just learned. The silence lasted for long seconds, which seemed to her like an eternity.

She didn't know why she was so nervous about what his answer would be, because she knew from the beginning what to expect from him. She waited until he came out from the shock because she remembered well how she had felt when she found out.

Hermione remembered how, a few days before, she added the chestnut leaf to the potion she was brewing, and then spilt a drop of her blood. The potion changed color from yellow to blue. The girl looked incredulous at the book from which the potion recipe came. She checked the last sentence at least three times, and then once again read the entire recipe. She felt her whole world collapse; there was no doubt she was pregnant with Malfoy's child.

After the test showed positive, or negative as she preferred to think of it, the girl sat for a few hours and wondered what it meant to her and what she should do. She wondered what would happen to her. She thought that Harry and Ron would be even angrier at her and certainly wouldn't recover from this last betrayal. And Malfoy would destroy her life. She wouldn't have anyone from the wizarding world to support her. It was likely she would be forced to return to the Muggle world and live the life of a single mother, because she would be expelled from Hogwarts due to the pregnancy.

On the other hand, she began to think about the being growing inside of her. It was her baby. She thought of its tiny hands, legs, and fingers. She wondered how it would feel when her child looked at her with trusting eyes. For a moment, she was filled with great love and tenderness when she thought about the child who would one day call her mum.

But then the image of the baby's father appeared before her eyes. This child would be half of Malfoy, a cruel and arrogant Death Eater. "What if the child is similar to him, not only in appearance, but in character?" she wondered. "What if the child has his eyes and is as atrocious him?"

She also knew that Malfoy would never accept the baby because, as a believer of pure blood ideology, he couldn't accept that he was the father of a half-blood child. Hermione was sure that if Malfoy realized that she was going to have his baby, he would turn her life into a living hell. Perhaps his family would want to get rid of her.

Hermione also considered the option that she could hide the identity of the child's father, but that would mean she was all alone and couldn't cope with just the support of her parents. She couldn't imagine hiding in the Muggle world. She was a part of the wizarding world and her place was there.

In these circumstances, there was no good way out; each alternative was grim and meant giving up something. It was necessary to choose the one which would lead to the least amount of negative consequences. Just then, Hermione decided.

"You're lying! You want to destroy my life! I bet that this isn't my child!" Malfoy's voice restored her to reality. He didn't believe in anything that he said, but it was easier to attack Granger than to acknowledge the terrible truth.

Hermione didn't know why, but his words hurt her. She didn't understand it, because she didn't care what he thought about her. Perhaps it was just that he was the only boy with whom she had sex with, and he was calling her some kind of slag.

"Do you want to take a chance and find out when it's born? I bet it will look just like you. Oh well, it will probably also look a little bit like me because it will be half my child and half yours. But if you still have doubts we can brew _Parens__Superbia_ and everyone will be sure of who the father is," she said, trying to speak in the most innocent voice. She was only playing calm and was surprised at how well she did. When the boy didn't say a word and only looked at her even more scared, she came to the conclusion that it was time to end the teasing and get to the point.

"Neither you nor I want this child," she continued with a cold, quiet voice. She didn't want him to know how difficult a decision it was for her. "Because of what happened, I lost the people closest to me. Harry and Ron know what we did. Don't ask, because I don't know how they found out, but they say that they have seen us. They aren't on speaking terms with me now and don't want to listen to my explanations. If people find out that I am pregnant with your child, my friends certainly wouldn't forgive me; I couldn't get them back. Then, what about my education? Because of the child, I won't finish school and it means a lot to me. But the most important of all, I don't want to have a child with a Death Eater!" she put emphasis on the last sentence.

At this point, Draco wanted to interrupt her, but as soon as he opened his mouth she stopped him. "Wait until I'm done," she admonished him. "When I realized that I was pregnant, I started to look in the library for information on what I could do about our problem. I learned that there is a potion that can solve our issue. Although such practices are illegal in the wizarding world, a woman in my situation has no other choice. I'm not for breaking the law, but in these circumstances I see no other way out. The trouble is that because of the components that are used to brew the potion and because the potion is illegal, it's very expensive and difficult to obtain. I don't know where I could buy it, not to mention the fact that I would not be able to pay for it. Initially I wanted to brew it myself but it turned out that first, I can't afford the ingredients and second, the process of preparing lasts half a year, which is not an option in our case. This is where your help comes. Your family has numerous connections and money and surely you'll be able to get this potion. Can you do that?" she ended with a question.

Malfoy's brain began to work. After what she told him, he was a little more relaxed. He thanked Merlin that she didn't want to have this child. He was relieved that he agreed with her solution. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if she had made any other decision. At first, when she started talking about the baby and that it would look like both of them, he was afraid that she wanted him to take responsibility for the child and marry her, or something equally horrible. Fortunately, she was extremely reasonable for a Mudblood and quickly dispelled his fears. He considered all the possibilities and came to the conclusion that Granger's solution was the most sensible. He knew that he could get the potion that she asked for and the price shouldn't be a problem for him. He felt a great relief that Granger was so determined that she would even break the law to solve the problem in a way that both of them had opted for.

"What is this potion called?" he asked, a lot calmer now.

"_Gravitas__Abulo_," she replied.

"Give me a few days. I'll let you know," he told her and without waiting for her answer, left the place of the meeting.

For almost all night, Draco wondered to whom he could turn to in order to get _Gravitas__Abulo_. He knew many people who were involved in illegal ventures, but he felt that none of them could be trusted. All of them were Death Eaters, and if they had somehow figured out why he needed the potion, his days would be numbered. And he was sure they would inquire why he decided to follow this path, rather than marry the girl who was pregnant with his child. If the girl was a pure-blood, anyone from his circle would have married her.

As it often happened, the only lifelines were his parents and he was sure they knew the right people. Because his father was in Azkaban, Draco decided to write a letter to his mother. Now, he sat at his desk with some parchment and wasn't sure if he should write her the truth. Surely she wouldn't be delighted with what had happened, but if she didn't know that it was a Mudblood that was pregnant, his mother would rather he marry the girl he hustled into trouble than move to such drastic solutions. If he only wrote about an unwanted pregnancy, Narcissa would bet that the child's mother was a pure-blood girl because she knew how orthodox Draco was about blood purity.

That's why he decided to describe in detail the entire story that included Granger. He was nervous, but he knew that there was no other choice. He concluded that his mother would understand that he did something so stupid because he was influenced by a potion. She always forgave him, especially when he claimed that it was someone else's fault. After all, she was his mother and mothers forgave their children for everything, even great atrocities like this.

After an hour of poring over parchment, Draco sealed the letter and then went to the Owlery, where he found his beautiful brown and white hawk owl. When he was attaching the message to its feet, his hands were shaking. He didn't know if he hadn't yet recovered from the news he got from Granger, or if his shaking hands resulted from the fact that he knew how much this letter would hurt his mother. He was her pride and joy, and now he was failing her so much and causing her such a big problem at a time when his mother had enough worries.

Although Narcissa was a very independent woman, she really missed Lucius. Draco's parents loved each other very much and always supported one another in difficult situations. None of them ever had to solve a problem on their own.

Narcissa was also worried about the Dark Lord's task commissioned for her only child. And now, with all these troubles, Draco was giving her another one.

Hermione waited impatiently for Malfoy to contact her. She had no doubt that he started to organize the potion she pleaded for. She hoped that the boy actually had the connections he claimed to have and that organizing _Gravitas Abulo_ wouldn't take too long, maybe a couple of days.

However, only one day has passed and Hermione felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. She wanted it to be over. Her thoughts about her child still returned to her and doubts overwhelmed her. She couldn't get away from the thoughts of wanting to get rid of the innocent child that was not to blame. Hermione wanted it to be over, so there was no way back and it was too late for such concerns.

Draco's owl returned the next morning. She landed on the table next to his plate and stretched out a leg to him. The boy was very surprised that the bird had brought not only a letter but also a small bag in which there was an oval shape object. He hoped that the potion was in the bag. He was surprised that his mother managed to arrange it so quickly. The blond untied the package from the owl's leg and offered the bird a piece of bacon from his breakfast. His pet hooted happily, grabbed the bacon and flew to the Owlery.

Malfoy decided not to open the package or read the letter in front of his colleagues. It was always a possibility that one of the curious Slytherins could look over his shoulder and learn the terrible truth about the Prince of Slytherin.

Because there was still half an hour left until their first lesson, Draco stood up from the table and walked briskly toward his dormitory. He was too nervous to wait to read the letter and open the package until the end of the lesson.

After just a few minutes, he got into the room and sat down on the bed. He pulled the letter and the bag from his pocket, then opened the folded piece of paper and began to read.

_Dear__son,__  
__I'm very__worried__of__the situation__that__you described__in your letter. The __plight__ is__even more__serious__than you think__.  
__Under no circumstances should__you__allow that girl__to do__what she is going to do__! __This is very important__! __My shipment will explain everything__.  
__If__I remember correctly,__this weekend__you__have__a trip to__Hogsmeade, so__let's meet__at noon__ in __Hog's Head.__We will have__a lot__to discuss._

_Mum_

It wasn't the answer he was expecting. Without a second thought, he untied the bag that his mother sent with the letter. He opened it and pulled out a glittering, silver, heavy metal ball from the inside. The object was no more than two inches in diameter, but on the surface there was a deep hole which wasn't very wide. When Draco saw the object, he immediately knew what it was and what he should do with it.

**Please review!**


	4. Prophecy

IGOTEAMEDWARD and ASJS tank you very much!

Chapter 4

**Prophecy**

It was the beginning of April and spring spread out in the surrounding meadows and forests. The air was warm and the smell of blooming flowers hovered in the air. The chatter of excited students who were looking forward to visiting Honeydukes or the Three Broomsticks was heard all around. It was the first trip to Hogsmeade after the accidents of Katie Bell and Ron. The professors were not thrilled, but they knew that they couldn't keep students indoors forever.

Draco Malfoy walked through the streets of Hogsmeade headed towards the Hog's Head, thinking about what he had learned a few days earlier. He was glad that he and Granger didn't do what they intended, because if they had, he might as well give up right away and _Avada Kedavra_ himself.

That didn't mean that the current situation was a happy one for him. "What about my mission? What about my whole life? What about my parents?" he wondered. He was angry because, according to what he believed, his hatred and contempt for Mudbloods and Muggles had precedence over everything else. He had never been so torn between what he felt and what he had to do if they couldn't find another solution to the problem. He strongly believed that his family and its survival were more important. And now it turned out that the fate of his line and his own life depended on whether or not he renounced the ideals espoused by the family.

He continued to hope that there was a way out of the situation, but so far he hadn't found one. He still didn't know how he would cope with what he would have to do to save the Malfoy family. According to him, it was even more difficult a task than the mission assigned by the Dark Lord.

His body shivered when the thought about the powerful wizard came to his mind. He couldn't imagine how he would reconcile the task assigned to him by the last descendant of Slytherin with the interests of his own family. Until now, he never had this kind of problem because Malfoys professed the same ideology as the Parselmouth, and their goals were the same. He concluded that the position in which he found himself could be worse, but certainly it wouldn't get better in the near future.

Now, he had to discuss and decide with his mother on how to cope with all of this. He believed that Narcissa would find a way out and save him from the role of blood traitor. He still deluded himself into thinking that she wouldn't arrange the meeting if she hadn't gotten a solution for their problems.

Draco still recalled the moment when he waved his wand and a drop of blood came out of his finger. He let the drop fall into the hole of the silver ball sent to him by his mother. Blood was the solution, as usual, and this time it was a way to protect Malfoy's secrets.

When Draco's blood fell into the hole, he was surrounded by a great magical bubble that prevented others from overhearing what he was listening to. Enclosed in the magical space, he heard the unearthly voice of a woman from afar:

_The first half-blood of the ancient Malfoy line, conceived against the wishes of its parents, will mark the beginning of great hardship. If the child is born and survives a terrible war, it will give rise to even greater power for the noble house, but will not pass down the name to future generations. If the child dies, the father will perish and the old family will disappear from the pages of wizarding history. Its happiness and survival lies in the unity of parents from two enemy worlds. The child can only be protected by the hand of the father, who will overcome the great fear and rediscover a powerful and priceless weapon._

When Draco heard these words for the first time, he didn't have any idea what they meant. Before he came to a full understanding, he had to listen to the voice of the woman announcing them repeatedly. He had to focus on individual parts to find out what it meant.

He first understood that the words were about the first half-blood child in the Malfoy family, whose father would be a Malfoy and mother a Muggle-born. At this point, the realization hit him that the prophecy was about him and Granger. He was the first Malfoy who had done something so horrible! Once again he felt remorse; he felt as if he had betrayed his family and himself. He suspected that he would never forgive himself for the evening in that empty classroom.

When he stop thinking about how unworthy he was to wear the name of Malfoy, he focused on the passage talking about how the child would be conceived against the will of its parents. It also matched the situation.

Draco understood that since that fateful night, the hard times for him and his family had just begun. For the family and him to survive, Granger and her child must outlive the war. At this point, Draco realized that he would be required to do everything to protect the Mudblood and the thing growing in her womb. Once this was understood by him, he thought about the irony of those words: to save the family who thought that Muggles were not worthy to live, the members of that family would have to protect the Muggle-born girl and the child who would contaminate the blood of the Malfoys.

The next part of the prophecy he interpreted was the one that said saving the child depended on some kind of weapon that was in the possession of the Malfoys. "What can that weapon be?" he wondered. It was supposed to be a weapon associated with overcoming some kind of terror, which further hampered the case.

The words spoken by the woman also gave him a glimmer of hope. Even if the Mudblood and the child were to survive, the child wouldn't provide the name of the Malfoys to future generations. He was sure it meant that people would forget which family the child came from and the Malfoys would still be associated with pure-blood wizards. It filled him with optimism. Other children would be born and fill the family tree. Granger's child would be forgotten, perhaps even erased from the Malfoy and Black's genealogical tapestries.

Another positive aspect of the woman's words was that she also spoke about the great power of the Malfoy family, which meant that if Draco succeeded in defending the Mudblood and her offspring, the Malfoys would enjoy even greater influence in the wizarding world than ever before.

Despite these positive aspects of the prophecy, something still boiled in Draco. He didn't want to be a blood traitor. He didn't want to collaborate with Granger and protect her and her child. Draco could not even look at her, let alone talk about any cooperation between them. She was someone who embodied everything he hated. There was no place for unity in their relationship. Draco knew that if he wanted to, he could be nice and polite, but the problem was that he didn't believe he would ever want to be civil to the Mudblood or that he would be able to. If he was nice to her, every conversation with her would be a terrible ordeal. He didn't know how long this cooperation would take and how long he would have to stay near Granger. What if it turned out that he was stuck with her for many years, since nobody knew how long the war would take?

Besides, by protecting Granger he would betray the Dark Lord, who was not known for his mercy and ability to forgive. Draco feared him more than anything in the world, so he came to the conclusion that betrayal was not an option because the last descendant of Slytherin was too powerful a wizard for something like this to pay off. If Draco betrayed the Dark Lord, he would be punished in a very cruel way.

Now, the only hope was Narcissa. He firmly believed that she would figure out something that would let the Malfoys survive into a world dominated by pure-blood wizards. Perhaps it was possible to avoid the words of the prophecy.

Thinking about all those things, he opened the door to the Hog's Head. The pub was a very unpleasant place. There was dirt everywhere and suspicious people plotting in every corner.

The boy didn't like going there, but he knew that the Three Broomsticks, where Rosmerta cared about order, was not a better alternative. During the Hogsmeade weekends, there were plenty of students milling about and one of them could easily overhear what he and his mother talked about.

He didn't want to visit there if he didn't have to because he had risked enough casting an _Imperius_ at Rosmerta. One wrong move and everything would be revealed to the public. Also, the appearance of Narcissa in the Three Broomsticks and her conversation with her son would cause the suspicion of Potter and Weasley and their attention wasn't needed.

Draco looked around and saw his mother at the table in the far corner. He walked over to Narcissa and sat down next to her. She hugged him and kissed him tenderly on the top of his head. Her face was wan and tears ran down her cheeks. She pressed her son so hard to her chest that Draco had the impression that she was cutting off his air supply.

"Mum!" he said, irritated. "People are watching." The woman let go of her son and gracefully sat on a chair.

"I'm sorry Draco. It's just...I'm so afraid," she said, her voice cracking.

"So you know the contents of the prophecy?" he asked in a whisper.

"Yes, as a Malfoy wife I have access to all the family secrets," she answered just as quietly.

"I know, just making sure. Where did this prophecy come from, who gave it to us?" he asked.

"It was decreed to Dagda Malfoy two hundred years ago by Clytemnestra and since then has been passed down from generation to generation," the woman explained. "This is one of the biggest secrets of the family, so it had to be guarded very carefully. Our enemies would use it against us. We haven't told you about it because we thought there was still time. And we hoped that, when Muggles ceased to exist, the threat of the fulfillment of this prophecy would disappear. We didn't expect that it would affect you and your child," she continued.

Draco winced at the words 'your child' but listened carefully, only nodding when his mother told him about the prophecy in a whisper. He knew that he couldn't be angry at his parents for not telling him about it before because they did it out of concern; they couldn't know that things were going to turn out like this.

"Mum, what am I supposed to do?" he asked with the voice of a helpless baby boy when his mother finished her explanations.

"You will do what the prophecy says," she replied, trying to be calm.

"But she's a Mudblood!" What his mother was telling him confirmed what he already suspected, and what he still didn't want to accept. Deep inside, he hoped that his mother would give him some miraculous solution and his life would be like before. He didn't want to have anything to do with Granger and didn't want to be the father of the first half-blood child in the Malfoy family.

"I'm sure your father would agree with me," she said, tears still streaming down her face. "This is the only way you can save your life. Remember that, for me and your dad, there is nothing more important."

"But she is a Mudblood. I will be a blood traitor!" he still protested.

"But you will live," she answered calmly, understanding how difficult this must be for her only child.

"As a traitor," he stressed.

"Don't think like that. You will do what you have to so the family survives, so that you survive. This is of the utmost importance. Future generations will forgive you. You just have to convince this girl to trust you. Approach her and protect her," she told him.

"But I can't!" he protested. "I hate her. I loathe her!"

"I know she's a Mudblood, but now she and her child are your key to survival," she reminded him with a gentle whisper. "You know that your life and the family are the most important things and you have to do whatever it takes." Somewhere deep down, Draco felt that his mother was right and there was no escape from destiny.

"Is there really no other solution?" he asked with resignation in his voice.

"No," she answered shortly. "If the situation requires it, you have to even pretend that you love her. You can do as much as you find appropriate, just remember that marriage is not an option. If you marry her, there won't be any way out and the Malfoys will no longer be pure bloods because the magical bonds of marriage are inseparable."

At this point, Draco completely didn't know what she was talking about. "Marriage with the Mudblood?" he wondered. He was disgusted with even kissing her, let alone bonding with her for life. The very idea of being close to her was already unimaginable sacrifice for him.

"What marriage?! I will not even be able to touch her!" he spoke in outrage, a little too loud. When he realized his error, he looked around and when he came to the conclusion that no one had paid any attention to his outburst, he calmed down a bit.

"Protect the girl and her child from danger, and when the prophecy is resolved we will do everything we can to somehow straighten out the situation," Narcissa tried to comfort her son. "Does she have any romantic interests?" she asked after a moment.

"She has always had a weakness for Weasley, but he doesn't want her and doesn't speak to her any longer. They both, him and Potter, found out about what she and I did," he explained, not having any idea why she needed this information.

"Does anyone else know about this?" Narcissa asked with concern.

"I don't think so. They may be angry at her, but I don't think they would say a word about it. If they wanted to, everyone would know already," he calmed her.

"Well, in that case, when the war is over we will convince Weasley to take her for himself and raise the child as his own." His mother didn't have to explain to Draco that she meant money when she talked about convincing Weasley. They both knew that the Weasley family was not very wealthy and they both believed in the power of money. "That way, as the prophecy says, the child won't pass on the Malfoy name and you will be able to find a wife and have real pure-blood children," Narcissa continued.

Draco decided that his mother's solution was the best possible one, and his mood improved slightly. He was glad that he wouldn't be tied to the Mudblood for a lifetime. According to Draco, Narcissa, in spite of her excessive displays of emotion, was a great strategist. Both Draco and his father were very appreciative of that trait. Her cunning was one of the factors that made Lucius fall in love with her. "But for now you have to be with her and protect her, because you have to save the child," the woman continued. "I just wonder what kind of weapon the prophecy speaks about," she started to think.

"I thought about it and I came up with nothing. If dad were here he would know. He knows the family history so well." Draco frowned. He missed his father and Lucius staying in Azkaban had a great impact on him. The worst part was that they didn't even know when Lucius would leave the walls of the prison or whether or not it would ever happen. Until now, Draco hoped the Dark Lord would help Lucius and pull him out of prison. But under the current circumstances, everything could change. "Mum, what about my task for the Dark Lord?" he asked.

"You can't do this, because it would put Granger and the child in great danger."

"But he will kill me!" he said, and terror could be heard in his voice.

"Dumbledore provides the greatest safety for the girl, and if he dies and the Death Eaters invade the castle, it would be your end. There is no other way," she observed. "I think that you have to go to Dumbledore and ask for help and protection. Just don't tell him about the prophecy. Say that you care about Granger and the child."

"But what will happened to you and dad!? The Dark Lord would never forgive us; he would never release father from Azkaban and he would kill you!"

"Dad is pretty safe in Azkaban, and I'm still thinking about how to free him. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. If necessary, I may have to disown you before the Dark Lord, maybe even before the entire wizarding world."

"Why will you renounce me?!" he asked, surprised and scared at the same time.

"Oh, son. Not really. It's just for safety," she smiled softly through her tears. "This however may not be enough, so I have to come up with something to give me absolute safety. It will be a hard time for all of us, but we'll manage," she tried to comfort him, but it was hard because heavy tears began to run down her cheeks again. She couldn't bear the thought of what she would have to do and that she wouldn't be allowed to see her son as often as she wanted to.

"Why do you have to disinherit me?" he asked with the voice of a wounded child.

"If I'm not under suspicion, it will be easier for me to help you if you need me. We cannot afford to be completely cut off from the Dark Lord because power and influence belong only to those who have information in addition to money. We will contact each other by Cygnus' medallions." Narcissa reached into her pocket and pulled out a locket. At first glance, it looked like a pocket watch on a chain, but inside there was a picture of a snake and a few points connected by silver lines, making a design like a crooked cross to reflect the constellation of Cygnus. The snake was crawling, wrapped around one of the lines of the sign. Narcissa handed the medallion to her son. "Remember, don't use it too often. We can contact each other only in case of emergency situations. It was designed only for urgent purposes." Draco nodded and put the locket into his pocket.

"Mum, I don't want to lose you and dad." He was still worried. At this point he didn't look like an arrogant Slytherin, but rather like a little boy who got lost in the crowd, desperately trying to find his parents and looking around with fear.

"You won't. Everything will be fine," she comforted him. "Just make sure to do everything to get the Mudblood to trust you. Now go on, you have to think of how to convince her."

"Yes, Mum," he said, and although he didn't want to part from her, he got up from the table, kissed her goodbye and left the pub.

When he left, Narcissa stayed at the inn for a while. She began to think about the problem that she still had not solved: the Unbreakable Vow she forced Snape into. "Severus can't do what he was asked to because it would expose our entire family to danger. On the other hand, if he doesn't, he will pay with his own life," she considered. When she decided what she should do and put together a plan of action, she disapparated to Malfoy Manor where she immediately sat down at her desk and started to write a letter.

Draco walked down the grim hall of Malfoy Manor. His heart was beating fast in his chest, and the insides of his clenched fists were wet with sweat. Along the way, he passed hooded figures in masks but didn't stop until he got to the big, wooden double doors.

For a moment, he stood in front of them and took a few deep breaths. Finally, he reached for the door handle and pulled. When he walked into the big room, a few figures turned to face him. Among the people, he knew he recognized his aunt and his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

He didn't stop beside them, but immediately turned his steps toward the fireplace and the chair standing right next to it. Now, he could only see a pair of red eyes that seemed to pierce through him. He felt a shudder of horror run across his back. He knew, however, that there was no turning back. He knew that escape would be pointless. There was no choice but to stand in front of the red-eyed man with the face of a snake. He gathered all his strength and blocked his mind prior to invasion from outside, then walked over to the chair and the wizard sitting there.

"My Lord." He greeted the man by kneeling and kissing the edge of the robes of the most powerful wizard in this century.

"Draco, how nice of you to join us," the man answered with a hissing voice. "As you probably guessed, I called you here to find out how you're doing with fulfilling the tasks entrusted to you."

"My Lord, I'm almost done. I need only a few weeks more," Draco said, his voice shaking.

"Really?" the man asked with mock sweetness in his voice.

"Yes, my Lord. Just a few little things and I'll be able to let Death Eaters into the school."

"And what about killing the old fool? From what I know, he is still in good health."

"I've tried several ways to dispose of him, but all failed. So I decided to wait for the right moment to kill him with my wand."

"Do not lie to me!" the Parselmouth shouted, and remnants of his recent fake smile faded from his snake face.

"I don't understand, my Lord."

"He doesn't understand." Voldemort let out a derisive laugh. Mocking smiles appeared on the faces of all the Death Eaters gathered in the room. "Do you really think you can fool Lord Voldemort?! I know that you don't intend to complete the task and that you've stained your name with a Mudblood! No one can escape punishment for disobedience to me!" A pale hand holding a wand came out, pointing at the boy's chest. "Now you will pay for what you have done. _Avada__Kedavra_," he said through his clenched teeth and green light scudded towards Draco. The boy's eyes flew open in horror and a cry escaped from his mouth.

At this point, Draco suddenly opened his eyes. He was still filled with fear, but looked around and realized that he was not in Malfoy Manor, but in the bed in his dormitory at Hogwarts. However, his face was covered with very real sweat, his heart was throbbing in his chest like crazy, and his fists were still clenched. Realizing that he was safe, Draco relaxed a little, although the fear didn't leave him completely.

Similar dreams had repeated for some time, but now for the first time, the Dark Lord accused him not only of inefficiency in performing his tasks, but also of contact with Granger and a lack of willingness to fulfill the Dark Lord's orders.

Draco had the impression that his throat had tightened and tears began to run down from his eyes. He was like a snake in the middle of a circle of flames and had only two choices: either die consumed by fire or bite himself and die from his own venom. Both choices meant death.

Draco began to remind himself over and over again that the situation was not so bad. There was still a chance that he could come out of this alive because the prophecy spoke about the power of his family, so he, as the last heir, had to survive.

But what if the Dark Lord discovered his secret? He was sure that if that happened, it would end in exactly the same way as his dream. But he would not be the only one to die; his parents would share his fate.

On the other hand, if he carried out the task entrusted to him by the Dark Lord, Granger and the child would die and he would perish with them. He had no other choice but to listen to his mother, believing that her actions would enable them to escape the wrath of the Dark Lord.

He also knew he had to seek Dumbledore's help. But first, he had to convince Granger about the purity of his intentions. Without her cooperation, even the Headmaster wouldn't save him.

Draco knew that he couldn't afford any false moves because it could cost him his life. He had to act as if he was preparing the most complicated potion, where one stir too much might end up in a complete disaster.

At this point, he felt completely helpless because he didn't know how he could gain Granger's trust. He knew he should be nicer to her, but didn't know how. He still hoped that there would be no need for pretending to be in love and being involved in a fake relationship. Somehow, he couldn't imagine touching her or kissing her, not to mention much more. Although he did it once, it was a completely different situation. Back then, he was under the influence of a lust potion, which instilled in him a fake desire for her body. His aversion for Granger and her origins was too strong to do something like that without a booster.

Draco decided that he would try to be nice to her, but without any physical contact. Civil behavior towards her made him sick, and he knew that it would require a lot of effort and self-control. He hoped that the Mudblood believed in his sincerity. It was an extremely difficult task, but he had always been a good actor, so he decided to take up the challenge.

However, he suspected that being nice would be not enough for her to give him a chance and agree to give birth to an unwanted child. He came to the conclusion that he would choose his next strategy depending on the circumstances.

The letter from Malfoy with the proposition of a meeting made Hermione feel a great relief. She waited impatiently for a couple of days. She knew that getting the potion that she asked for wasn't a simple matter, and therefore she didn't urge the Slytherin. She was afraid of how the boy might react to her lack of patience. She explained to herself that he wanted as much she to get rid of the problem and he certainly was doing his best to get the potion. So when she got a letter from Malfoy, Hermione was sure that he proposed the meeting in order to give her said potion.

When Draco arrived at the meeting place, the girl was not there yet. He stood in front of the abandoned classroom, leaning against the wall, and waited for her. She appeared after a few minutes.

Without a word, he opened the door and ushered her before him into the classroom. His unexpected gesture made her look at him in surprise. She had never imagined that this hated Slytherin and Death Eater was capable of acting like a gentleman towards her.

At the same time, Draco swelled with anger. It irritated him that he must behave with respect towards the Mudblood. However, he knew that it was for a good cause. Therefore, he suppressed the growing feeling and went inside after the girl.

"How are you?" he asked with the mildest voice he was able to utter, thus making her even more stunned. Before the meeting, he thought about what he should ask her and talk to her about to make her feel that he cared about her. But when he voiced those words and looked at her face, he barely restrained his laughter. Her mouth was open and her eyes bulged in absolute amazement. He had never seen her so surprised. In his mind, he imagined that her face would look exactly like that if a teacher told her that she answered a question wrong.

"You're interested? Since when?" she finally asked with aggression in her voice. She was expecting a trick on his part.

"You might be surprised, but I am interested," he said, trying to smile at the same time. However, what appeared on his face was more like the grimace of a suffering man than a genuine smile. Growing suspicion could be seen on the girl's face.

"I feel awful," she answered truthfully after a short while. At the same time she was looking at him sideways, expecting an attack at any moment. "Morning sickness started and I can't even eat breakfast without disturbance. If it lasts for any more time, everybody will figure it out. Have you got the potion?" she asked, trying to be firm and get back to the matter at hand.

"You see, I've been thinking a lot recently," he began hesitantly. He was very nervous, but did everything in his power to not let it be heard in his voice.

"So?" she urged.

"Well, I don't agree," he said in one breath.

"What do you not agree to?" She didn't understand.

"It's my baby and I can't just kill it. I couldn't. This is a baby, which is growing and is a part of me. I started to think about your words, about how the child would be like me, and I imagined teaching him to fly on a broom and going to Quidditch matches together. He already exists and I can't give you _Gravitas Abulo_ because I want to have this baby," he explained.

He didn't believe a word of what he said. He could better imagine a situation where people pointed him out while he walked down the street with his half-blood child than happily spending time with him.

"What are you talking about?! This child is only a problem for you! You're a Death Eater, and this baby is also a part of me, which means that it is a half-blood! How will your parents and other Death Eaters look at you?! What will your Lord say?! Do you mean to tell me that you want to give up all of that for this child?!" Hermione got nervous. Her heart broke when she imagined what Malfoy spoke of. She also imagined teaching the child to read and accompanying the child for its first train to Hogwarts. This was her baby. It was growing in her and was half of her. She really didn't want to get rid of it and Malfoy was making the situation even more difficult.

She knew that what he said couldn't be true and she wondered if Malfoy was only trying to annoy her, and then pull out the bottle of potion from his pocket in the next moment. She wanted him to stop. She wanted it to be over now. She wanted to finally drink the potion. She wanted to stop wondering whether the decision she made was the right one. She wanted to go past the point of no return.

"And if I tell you that I would give up all that?" he asked, trying to be calm. "I just want to have this child." He walked over to her and gently grabbed her wrist.

"I would answer that I don't believe you!" she retorted. "What do you mean?! What are you up to?! Is this some kind of devious plan to humiliate me?! Or maybe you hate me so much that you want to destroy my life, plunging yourself into ruin in the process?!" Draco used all his willpower to not explode and start yelling at the annoying, screaming bug. He knew he had to act no matter what. He mentally counted to ten to calm down. "Or maybe you can't get that potion? Maybe your contacts are not as wide as you claim?" she provoked him further.

"Of course I can get it!" he shouted, already quite angry, and then he caught himself and added in a much calmer voice, "I want to have the baby, that's all."

"Somehow I find it hard to believe in your sudden change of heart," she said, pulling her hand from his gentle grip. "Why can't you make things easier for us and get the potion? Do you really want to have a baby with a Mudblood?" she continued, a little calmer while trying to get through to him in his own language. At the same time, Draco fought with himself to say the next words that were absolute lies and contradicted everything he believed in so far.

"Regardless of whether the child is pure-blood or half-blood, it is mine."

"How can I believe you?" she asked.

"I won't give up on it. I will protect you and the child and take care of you. Although you can't count on being a couple with me," he couldn't help himself from adding this sentence. "But I will prove to you that I care for this child."

"Your reputation would be lost. Which one of those Slytherin girls would want you?" Hermione didn't give up. Draco knew what she was talking about. He thought about it a lot. He knew that if the secret was released, it would be difficult for him to convince girls from pure-blooded wizarding families to socialize with him. He kept hoping that there would be no need for anyone to know that Granger's child was his. He still didn't know what his life would be like in a few months, but he hoped it wouldn't change more than necessary.

"Family is more important," he responded, believing in something he said for the first time that day. But his thoughts on family were different from Hermione's.

"I don't believe you and with or without you, I will find a way to solve this problem," she replied aggressively, but she wasn't sure what she should do now. She was angry that none of her arguments had convinced him; therefore, she still had time to hesitate on her own decisions.

When she uttered the last sentence, she started towards the exit without waiting for his response.

"If you do that, I will snitch to the Ministry," she heard from behind her. His voice sounded like usual, arrogant and mean.

"Are you threatening me?" She turned to face him. "You can be sure that even if I'm forced to give birth to this child, you won't have anything to do with it. I won't allow it to be raised by a Death Eater," she voiced venomously. "You'll never see it, and I'll tell the Ministry about the dark mark you wear under those robes." At this point, Draco realized that his outburst was not the most sensible play from his side. It was not enough for the child to be born; he had to be with it to defend it and its mother. He couldn't be locked in Azkaban. There was only one way to fix the mistake that he made.

"Give me a chance..." He paused. He was not sure if he would be able to pronounce the next word. He even forced himself to approach the girl and grab her shoulder, and then he stroked it gently in an effort to calm Granger down a bit. He looked into her eyes, took a deep breath and quietly whispered, "Please." At this point, he felt simultaneously relieved that he was able to say it and distaste with himself for stooping to ask the Mudblood for anything. Draco hated to ask anybody for anything and almost never did it, but he knew that, taking his difficult situation into account, there was no other choice.

Hermione was impressed by the words that came out of his mouth. She never imagined that she would ever hear the word please uttered by a Malfoy, especially directed to her. At the same time, she was too smart to be fooled by his well-mannered behavior. She still suspected that something was behind it. She was almost sure it was a trick.

"I do not believe you," she answered, and left.

At the same time, Harry and Ron sat in their dorm talking. Hermione and Malfoy were the main topic of the conversation. Ron and Harry still didn't have any evidence that would help them solve the riddle of those two.

"What do you think, maybe we didn't read that right and we interpreted it in the wrong way? Maybe it's true that she is actually able to explain it?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Yes. And then she will tell us a fairytale, we will trust her again, and then she―" Ron didn't finish, because Harry interrupted him.

"Ron, she was a good friend for so many years. Somehow I don't want to believe that she is planning something evil and had something to do with Sirius' death," Harry opposed. "I'd better check where Malfoy is on the map. He continues to disappear from it and I still have no idea what he is doing," added Harry because he wanted to change the subject. He reached his trunk and pulled out the Marauder's Map. Heunfolded it and, hitting it with his wand, he recited, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," and the map revealed itself.

For a moment, Harry and Ron watched the map, looking for the name of Draco Malfoy. Suddenly, Ron's eyes stopped at some point on the map and his face went red with anger.

"You say that she isn't doing anything wrong!" said Ron, and pointed with his finger at the map. Harry's eyes turned in that direction and in the area that corresponded with the classroom located near the Room of Requirement, he saw two dots: one described Draco Malfoy and the other Hermione Granger. The dots were very close to each other, almost uniquely proving the physical contact between the two persons to which they corresponded.

"So it's true," Harry sighed. "She still sees him, even though she tries to persuade us constantly about her innocence."

Anger disappeared from Ron's face, and was replaced with sadness similar to Harry's. Despite what Ron said before, he also hoped that they were wrong about Hermione. However, now there was no doubt that Hermione was guilty.

Hermione didn't know what to think about what Malfoy had told her. She didn't expect this turn of events in her wildest dreams. But common sense didn't let her believe the thought that Malfoy was telling the truth. She was sure that there were hidden motives behind all that. However, absolutely nothing was coming to her mind. What interest might Malfoy have in fathering a half-blood child? It meant shame for him and nothing more. She didn't know what she should do. Should she try and get the potion on her own at all costs or give in to Malfoy's demands and give birth to the child?

**Please review!**


	5. Persuasion

Chapter 5

Persuasion

Two days later, during breakfast, Hermione received a parcel sent by owl post. There was a short note attached to the package:

_This is for__your__morning sickness__. __I hope that__ it __will help.__  
__DM_

Of course, Draco recounted his meeting with Granger to Narcissa and mentioned Hermione's nausea. Narcissa immediately came up with the idea to sneak into the girl's good favor and sent her son a potion prepared according to traditional recipes that belonged to her family for generations. According to what Narcissa wrote, the potion could work wonders for an upset stomach.

Hermione looked towards the Slytherin table. Malfoy glanced at her and smile gently. Since the smiles, especially those aimed at Granger, came to him particularly hard, he practiced it in front of the mirror for all of the previous evening. He began imagining Granger and tried to smile. Before at the mention of her, only a grimace appeared on his face. Now, it had to change. The smiles began to appear on his face after a few minutes of trying. Then he decided to train for different types of smiles: shy, wide, and a half-smile. However, the best by far was his seductive smile, probably because he used it often before but never on Granger.

Hermione turned her head away from the Slytherin table. She didn't completely know what to think about all of this. The boy surprised her again with his behavior. "Maybe the potion that he sent is a poison?" she wondered. "But why would he want to poison me? He would rather use _Avada__ Kedavra_ on me than play in being nice only to poison me. Besides, there was a note that would be evidence against him if I die."

Because nausea plagued her that day even more than before, she decided to take a chance. When no one was looking, she poured three drops of the potion into her juice as the instructions advised. She debated for a moment about whether she was being smart by trusting Malfoy. Then, she brought the cup to her lips. When her mouth was almost touching the edge of the cup, she withdrew her hand. For a moment she stared piercingly at the cup lying on the table, as if expecting the substance inside would burn a hole in the cup and start to leak. Nothing like this happened and the cup lay noiselessly where she had put it. At this point, she felt another wave of nausea flooding her. Once again, this time very slowly, she reached out for the cup of enriched pumpkin juice. Once she grabbed it, she raised it to her lips with a quick move and took a sip of the drink.

It seemed absolutely incredible to her that the nausea left her completely almost immediately after she did it. She felt great. So she picked up the cup once again, brought it to her lips and drank all of its contents in one gulp. "The world is on its head. Malfoy did something nice for me," she thought. Then she got up from the table and walked toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. It was her first lesson of the day.

When Hermione got to the classroom, she sat down at the table that she recently shared with Neville. The classroom was still empty, but after a while other students began to appear. Of course, Malfoy was among them. At first, he pretended that he didn't see her and talked with Nott, not even looking in her direction. There was typical arrogance and confidence on his face. He was looking at the Gryffindors who were passing him by with superiority and contempt. But when he passed Hermione's bench while moving towards the end of the room, he glanced discreetly at her, and once again that day, he smiled at her. When Hermione found herself thinking that maybe Malfoy was not so bad and she should give him a chance, she immediately scolded herself silently. All positive thoughts about Malfoy disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. "He is a Death Eater. I can't trust him," she reminded herself.

Minutes passed and Professor Snape still had not appeared. Most of the students were happy because even though they liked defense lessons, the teacher filled them with fear. Even those who were good in this subject couldn't be confident if they weren't Slytherins.

While waiting for the teacher, most of the students continued their conversations from the Great Hall. At the same time, some of the Slytherins and Gryffindors were pelting each other with various objects. Harry, however, didn't participate in either the conversations or battles. He was thinking about Snape's absence and came to the conclusion that the teacher was late because he had been summoned by Voldemort and now was participating in a meeting of Death Eaters. Harry also thought that it was strange that Malfoy wasn't absent too, because of this meeting. Harry came to the conclusion that Voldemort treated the blond differently because of his task. He couldn't let the plan collapse and arouse suspicion due to Malfoy not showing up in the classroom.

After several minutes of waiting, the door to the classroom opened. However, it wasn't Snape who came inside but the Headmaster in person. Harry noted that although at first glance Dumbledore appeared to look the same as usual, something was wrong. There was a lenient smile on his face as always, but his eyes lacked the mischievous sparks that were so characteristic of them. Harry was pretty sure that this lack of glimmer was related directly to the Order and its problems.

"My dears," Dumbledore began. "It seems that Professor Snape won't attend today's class." Murmurs of surprise passed through the classroom. Everyone wondered what had happened to Snape. The teacher was known for treating his duty seriously and he was never ill. No one remembered Snape being absent for even one lesson. After a moment, the individual voices of students were heard in the classroom.

"What happened to Professor Snape?" asked a clearly upset Slytherin.

"How long will he be absent?" asked one of the Gryffindors, with hope in his voice.

"At this point, I can't answer your questions, but I hope that Professor Snape will be able to lead your next lesson and explain everything to you then," said the Headmaster.

"Who can tell me what you learned during the last lesson?"

Hermione's hand shot up almost immediately.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"We have been learning about nonverbal spells, shielding and stunning," she answered.

"Excellent. Excellent." Dumbledore seemed to be happy. "Today, you will practice those spells. Unfortunately, I have my responsibilities and I can't accompany you during this lesson. Professor Slughorn will take care of you. If you have any problems, I'm sure he will be happy to help you."

At this point, the fat walrus-faced professor came into the classroom. When Dumbledore left, he immediately sat down on the chair behind the desk and pulled out a bag of candied pineapple from his pocket, then began to eat.

As was the custom during this type of exercise, the students were divided into pairs. Draco was worried about Granger getting any injuries, which could threaten the child. He was relieved when she began to practice with Longbottom. He still had not mastered nonverbal spells and the only thing coming out of his wand was a small cloud of smoke, which wouldn't be able to harm even a fly. However, just in case something did happen, Draco stood with Goyle beside Granger and Longbottom. Draco was right next to the girl, and Goyle next to Longbottom. Draco was glad to be paired with Gregory because, like Longbottom, he also hadn't mastered the difficult art of nonverbal spells and Draco knew he would be able to concentrate on guarding Granger.

As suspected, for most of the lesson Longbottom and Goyle failed to cast any spell, offensive or defensive, and therefore both were still paralyzed by Draco and Hermione's spells.

"Neville, you need to concentrate," Hermione instructed her partner. "Imagine that you utter the spell, and that it's really shooting in my direction."

At this point, Neville's face expressed absolute focus. Then he closed his eyes and pointed his wand. But because of his closed eyes, he didn't see anything and instead of Hermione, his wand was directed at the heavy bookcase behind her. It was a bookstand with various mysterious devices, such as sneakoscopes, monitors for enemies and other objects used to defend against the Dark Arts. When it seemed that nothing more remarkable than the absence of Snape would occur during this lesson, things happened quickly.

While no one expected it to happen, a bright spell's ray shot from Neville's wand and sped toward the bookcase behind Hermione. The girl only had time to look back to see Neville's nonverbal spell hitting the furniture. The bookstand lurched and crackled. Draco saw in slow motion that it had begun to tilt and in a second would fall on Hermione, who was standing next to it. His only thought was "bloody hell" before he jumped toward the girl who was speechless and paralyzed with shock. Draco pushed her away and shielded her before the shelf collapsed. A split second later, the class could hear a terrible crash while furniture fell to the floor, smashing the blonde's leg. The boy fell to the ground, crushed by the bookcase.

When his bewilderment passed, Draco screamed silently with pain and cursed Granger, who put him in this situation. He looked at the shocked faces of the other students, and then at his own leg, which was twisted unnaturally. His robe was covered in fresh blood stains. He realized that his heroic rescue of the Mudblood might cause some suspicions, so in spite of the rushing pain, he decided to pretend that he was in this situation out of his own volition.

"Gregory, did you really have to do this?! And because of you I fell into Granger! You know I would never touch a Mudblood on my own accord!" he told his friend with exasperation in his voice. "Well, at least you managed a non-verbal spell," he added after a moment.

"Really? I managed to do that?" asked a surprised Goyle, because he didn't remember a spell's ray getting out of his wand. But he smiled happily, because if Malfoy said something, that meant it was true.

Hermione looked from Goyle to Malfoy, and then to Neville. She still wasn't sure what had happened, but it seemed to her that she saw the spell shoot from Neville's wand, striking the shelf, and Malfoy jumped to protect her. She was almost sure she didn't see Goyle's spell, especially one strong enough to throw Malfoy over some distance. In addition, they were training on paralyzing spells, and they didn't work that way. She felt angry with Malfoy for speaking about her again in such a bad manner and grateful that he saved her from the falling furniture at the same time. She didn't understand what was going on with Malfoy at all. At this point, she decided that she had to talk to him again and he had to explain his behavior to her. The sudden rescue was absolutely unusual for him. She never saw that guy risking his neck for someone else.

"Mr. Malfoy, go to the hospital wing immediately. Madam Pomfrey will take care of you. Mr. Goyle, please escort your friend," said the teacher who was so preoccupied with his pineapples that he hadn't seen the incident. "The rest of you are free," he finished, then took his bag of pineapples from the desk and walked out of the classroom.

The students almost immediately gathered their belongings and left in groups. Only Harry and Ron stayed. They had been practicing non-verbal spells near Hermione and Neville and saw what really happened.

"Did you see that, Harry?" asked Ron. "He really saved her from the cabinet."

"But why would he do that? I though he would never do anything gratuitously," Harry wondered.

"Exactly. It's really weird. Even when he was dating Slytherin girls, he never did anything like that for them," his friend agreed with him.

"Do you think he is really in love with Hermione? It doesn't make any sense."

"It's really weird. Really weird," Ron muttered, collecting his belongings in his bag.

The same day that afternoon, Draco lay on one of the beds in the hospital wing and cursed Granger. He would prefer to look after Blast-Ended Skrewts rather than the annoying Miss Know-it-all. His right leg no longer hurt and Draco wished he asked someone to bring him something to read because he was terribly bored. He could only stare at the ceiling. He was alone since Madam Pomfrey left, requested by the Headmaster. He closed his eyes and decided to take a nap, but it was too early to feel sleepy. So he just lay thinking about what an unrewarding task protecting Granger was. Instead of being grateful, she accused him of insincere intentions. The boy seemed to forget that his intentions were, in fact, not entirely genuine and instead he focused on how underrated he was by others. He concluded that no one but his parents believed in him.

Suddenly, he heard a shy and quiet voice.

"Hey, are you sleeping? Can I talk to you for a while?"

He opened his eyes and saw the cause of his recent troubles beside his bed. He wondered how she managed to get here so silently.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, not very politely.

"You were absent at afternoon classes, so I thought I would let you borrow my notes," she answered, handing him a few rolled parchments.

"I don't need your notes," he growled, but reached out and took the scrolls of parchment from her. He was still angry at the whole situation with Granger and some stupid notes couldn't change that. "Is this the only reason for your visit?" he asked after a moment, sensing that her unexpected appearance must hide something more.

"I wanted to know why," she explained.

"Why what?" He pretended he didn't know what she meant. He felt satisfaction that she would have to mention his valiant deed. He felt like a hero, and suddenly a hitherto unknown feeling of pride because of his actions appeared in his heart.

"Why did you do that? Why did you protect me?"

Draco smiled proudly to hear those words.

"I promised you," was his only explanation.

"But I still don't understand." She paused for a moment and bit her lower lip. "One day this child is the greatest tragedy for you and the next you are talking about how you are going to take it to Quidditch matches. I'm not stupid and I can see that something is not right. I would love to be wrong and that is why I am inclined to believe you if you explain it to me in a convincing manner." She didn't know if she would ever rely on him, but now she needed his explanations.

"But I can't explain it. It's just the way I feel," he stubbornly continued his game.

"Do you really want me to believe that this is reason enough for you to expose your position, or even risk your life?" She paused for a moment. She was not sure whether she should tell him the whole truth, and admit all the feelings and doubts that were recently overwhelming her. Finally, she came to the conclusion that this conversation would lead to nothing if she wasn't absolutely sincere with him. "You see, this decision was really difficult for me. I thought a lot about this child. I wondered what I could teach it, how I would like to give it a name―"

"Cepheus," he interrupted.

"What?"

"I want him to be called Cepheus," he answered calmly.

"And if it's a girl?" she asked almost automatically, without thinking about why she was continuing this topic.

"I'm sure it's a boy."

"And if not?" she pressured.

"Cassiopeia."

"Nice." She smiled involuntarily. "When did you come up with this?"

"I had a lot of time lying here." It was true. As soon as he ceased to think of Granger and Madam Pomfrey, he thought of the child whose life he defended. He didn't even know when he started to think about names. The first that came to his mind was Cepheus. He immediately liked it. It sounded nice and was associated with the tradition of Naming in the Black family. Then he began to wonder whether the half-blood child was worthy of wearing a name so typical for his mother's pureblood family and if it wasn't a waste of a good idea. But then he came to the conclusion that there were enough constellations to find other equally beautiful names. Following the same trail, Draco quickly came to the decision that if the child was a girl she should be called Cassiopeia, like his great-grandfather's sister. He personally didn't believe the child would be female because there had been no girls in the Malfoy family for several generations.

Hermione just nodded with understanding.

"Well, back to what I said before..." saying this, she looked at him and sat on the edge of his bed.

Draco's mouth twisted in disgust with his characteristic smirk, but he quickly called himself to order and his face broke into a gentle, permissive smile.

"Like I said, I thought a lot about all of this. I really don't want to get rid of the baby, but I know that by deciding to have it, I can lose too much. I am ready to give this baby up, although its half-blood origin doesn't bother me. I don't want to believe that you, having as much to lose as me and with the views that you have on blood purity, are ready to make a different decision. Put yourself in my situation. Would you believe in your own sincerity?"

"Explain to me again what you would lose by deciding to have this child?" he asked, trying to avoid answering her question.

"I'll be expelled from the school."

"Do you really think that Dumbledore would expel you? And even if he would like to, I can convince him to change his mind."

"Would you mind telling me how?" she asked, becoming interested.

"I can't tell you now," he said after a brief hesitation. It was not a good time to reveal the whole truth about the Dark Lord's plan.

"How can I trust you if you don't want to tell me?" She was annoyed. She knew how Malfoy was, but she still hoped that their conversation would be absolutely honest.

"I'll tell you when you make the right decision and the child is safe." Draco knew that when he convinced her to give birth to this child, they would have to tell Dumbledore about what happened and then he would have to reveal the Dark Lord's plan to the Headmaster. Granger should also know the truth, to understand the difficult position Draco was in.

"Somehow, I sincerely doubt it. Anyway, that's not all. If I have this child with you, I will lose Harry and Ron forever."

"Why do you care about those morons?" he asked, still not understanding why she was so attached to Scarhead and Redhead. "You should be happy that someone like me will protect you."

"Those are my best friends, you presumptuous―"

"Friends?" he interrupted her, and mockery appeared in his voice. "They don't even want to hear your explanations."

"They experienced a great shock and have to come back to themselves. They will forgive me if I prove to them that you and I have no connections."

"And do you really believe that?" he continued to mock her.

"What do you know about true friendship?!" She got up from his bed and turned to leave.

Draco realized that he applied the wrong strategy again. He reached out and stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"I'm just saying what I see," he told her, his voice a lot smoother. "What if you knew that they would forgive you and accept the situation? Would you agree?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, I would agree," she responded while pulling her hand out of his grip. She said nothing more and walked towards the exit.

Draco had a plan. However, since the conversation with Hermione, a few days had passed during which he still hesitated. He had never done such things before and would give almost anything to avoid the talk that awaited him. But he knew it was his last resort because Granger was not convinced by his words or actions so far. He had to prove to her how much he cared for that child, so he decided to do something he found very humiliating.

Now, he walked toward the Quidditch pitch where the Gryffindors' training was taking place. When he reached the field, the Gryffindors were just finishing with their practice, but most of them were still in the air. Draco stood in one of the stands and began to watch Potter and Weasley whizz by on their broomsticks.

At one point, his eyes crossed with those of the Boy-Who-Lived. Anger appeared on the brunette's face and his broom immediately sped towards the Slytherin. When Ron realized what was going on, he headed after his friend at once. Moments later, the two landed next to Malfoy.

"What do you want?!" Harry asked angrily.

"I can stand where I like to," Draco snapped.

"Do you want to preview our strategy, because you can't beat Harry otherwise?" Ron sneered.

"What I saw didn't look like any strategy but rather like a bunch of idiots who think that they are playing Quidditch." At this point, Ron pulled out his wand and pointed it at Malfoy. Draco, however, didn't draw his and only stood still. "Potter, restrain your friend. I came here to talk."

"What about?" Harry became interested. "I assume you don't want to borrow our transfiguration notes?"

"Not here," Draco said, because Gryffindors had landed nearby, one after another, interested with the conversation. "I don't want someone to overhear us."

"How do I know that this is not a trick?" Harry asked.

"What? Are you afraid?" Malfoy sneered and his face broke into a mocking smirk.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm just not going to trust a Death Eater."

"If you are so careful, you can choose the place where we will talk."

"Why should we agree to this?" Harry asked.

When Malfoy said nothing for a long moment and his face began to fill with rage, Harry and Ron turned away from him and headed back to the castle.

"Potter, it's important. Please."

They heard the quiet and constrained words coming from behind them. Both Gryffindors turned towards the blond, amazed. His cheeks were all red, as if in shame or great effort. He watched them, waiting for their response. For a long moment, no one spoke. Curiosity grew in Harry. He wondered what important issue could have caused Malfoy to utter those words. Harry expected the worst from the Slytherin, but interest in what the blond had to say finally started to win.

"You have five minutes. Let's go to the grounds," he finally answered. Draco just nodded and the three of them headed towards Hogwart's grounds.

When they moved away to a safe distance from the rest of the Gryffindor team who were observing them with amazement, Draco finally broke the silence.

"It's about me and Granger―" he began.

"We don't want to hear any of your silly explanations. We already know everything," Ron didn't let him finish.

"You know nothing!" Malfoy snapped furiously.

"Oh yes, we know! We saw you together in an empty classroom," Ron explained. "We also know that this was not the only time you met there. Also, you saved her from a falling shelf in Defense Against the Dark Arts. And she visited you later in the hospital wing." Harry and Ron also learned about this meeting by observing Malfoy and Hermione on the Marauder's Map. "We know that you are a couple and are going to get married." At this point, Malfoy laughed. The idea that he would ever get married to the Mudblood was, for him, only a good joke.

"Only you think that it is as you say. We're not together―"

"Is that why we saw you in that classroom?" Harry asked.

"Neither of us did that of our own accord. We have been the victims of a potion," Draco tried to explain.

"So explain to us about Hermione being a pure-blood," demanded Harry.

Malfoy was stunned. He was completely unaware of what Potter was talking about. "Granger is a Mudblood," he finally answered, hesitantly.

"Yeah, and why would you willingly tie yourself to a Muggle-born girl?" Ron asked with derision.

"I've told you that we are not a couple!" Draco began to get angry.

"Yeah, right. Then why did you come to us wanting to explain everything if you aren't a couple? If you were not together, you wouldn't have any interest in that," pointed out Harry.

For a moment, Draco looked amazed at Harry because he didn't really know what his answer should be. He couldn't tell them about the child, not yet. Granger certainly wouldn't forgive him and he would be screwed.

"Your five minutes have passed," Harry said and they both walked away, leaving Draco behind.

After talking with Malfoy, Harry and Ron headed straight to Gryffindor tower. They were furious. It annoyed them that not only Hermione, but now Malfoy tried to make idiots out of them. After all, the evidence against Hermione and Malfoy were overwhelming. Did they really think that Harry and Ron would believe in a story about a potion?

Dinnertime was coming and most of the students were already in the Great Hall waiting for a meal or getting ready for it in their dormitories. Passing the empty corridors of the castle, Ron and Harry were fuelling each other's rage. At one point, they noticed Hermione, who walked alone laden with an armful of books. Without much thinking, an agitated Ron started in the direction of the girl like a raging bull. Harry followed him. They stood in front of her, blocking her way.

"Don't do that again!" Ron said angrily.

"What do you mean?" she asked, surprised with the attack and that he was speaking to her.

"Don't send your boyfriend to talk to us about some bullshit dealing with potions."

"What?" She became even more surprised.

"You heard me. Your Death Eater boyfriend tried to convince us that there is nothing between you two and what we saw in that classroom was only the result of a potion," Ron explained. "How did you convince him to bring up this conversation with us? He never begs for anything. You must have your own ways with him," Ron said with a vicious smile.

"But it's true! And I didn't ask him for anything." Tears began to appear in her eyes. Although she was already accustomed to the idea that her friends didn't want to hear her explanations, she was completely unable to stop from crying any longer because of her hormones.

"Do not lie! You lie all the time!" Ron attacked.

Harry saw tears shining in Hermione's eyes and grabbed Ron's arm, as if to restrain him from yelling at her further. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but he didn't have time.

"I'm not lying!" she denied, then burst into tears and ran in the direction of the gate leading to the grounds. She ran without seeing anything around her. The words that she just heard hurt so much. She wanted to be anywhere else, away from it all. She wanted to be alone.

But she didn't reach the lake where she was headed because, at the entrance, she fell onto a tall figure.

"Watch where you walk!"

She heard Malfoy's voice and looked up.

"Oh, it's you." Draco forced himself to hold back the anger that had been growing inside of him since the conversation with Potter and Weasley. He knew that yelling at her would only worsen his situation.

"Have you spoken to Harry and Ron?" she asked softly.

He was not sure how to answer. He was afraid she would be angry that he interfered in her affairs, but he knew that a lie wouldn't pay off for him either.

"Yes," was his only answer.

"Why?"

"You said that you would agree if they forgave you. I wanted to convince them. It was probably not a good idea," he concluded.

"Why don't they want to listen?" she asked, bursting into more tears and without thinking about what she was doing, she let go of her books, took Draco's neck in both hands and buried her tear-streaked face into his chest.

When the boy felt her delicate fingers on his neck and moisture on his chest from her tears leaking through his clothes, he tensed for a moment. He felt very uncomfortable with the Mudblood crying on him. So, intimate physical contact with her meant more than grabbing her by the arm or wrist. He knew he should feel disgusted at this point, but he also knew that he couldn't push her off right now. By using the entire strength of his will, he hugged her with one hand. His other hand automatically and involuntarily started stroking her head. When he realized what he was doing, he wanted to stop, but then it came to his mind that this was what would be expected from him in such a situation with any crying girl. While he stroked her hair and felt her body close to his, he thought that it was not as bad as he expected. He didn't feel sick one bit. If she was a pure-blood girl, he could even call it a pretty nice feeling. Silence reigned between them, which made him feel embarrassed, so he came to the conclusion that something must be said.

"One day, they will believe you," he comforted her, honestly doubting it.

Neither of them noticed Ginny, who had returned from the Quidditch pitch and was just passing by. The girl was on the field longer than any other Gryffindor because she wanted to fly alone for a moment, wondering about what Malfoy wanted from Ron and Harry. Ginny looked in the direction of the pair hugging in the middle of the corridor and realized that she was seeing Malfoy caressing Hermione and her cuddling up to him. The girl suffered such a shock that she nearly collided with the wall, which seemed to suddenly emerge in front of her. She stood frozen by the same wall and just stared at the scene in disbelief. Ginny was unable to utter any noise since her throat tightened as if someone tied it with string. The view that loomed before her eyes was the last thing she expected to see in her life. It was more possible that Fred and George would stop joking and change into staid officials of the Ministry. "What is Hermione doing? What does all this mean?" she wondered with amazement.

When Hermione calmed down a little, she pulled away from the blond and looked him in the eyes.

"You didn't tell them about the pregnancy?" she asked softly.

"No."

"You really want to have this baby?" she asked another question.

"Yes," he answered, and smiled. He felt great joy at this moment because he knew that he achieved his first victory. At this point, Hermione returned his smile hesitantly.

"Hermione!"

They heard a terrified voice. Hermione and Draco turned in the direction of the sound and saw the shocked face of Ginny, who finally found her voice and was able to scream. They both froze with fear. Ginny used this moment to escape in an unknown direction. Draco and Hermione were too surprised to chase her.

After a moment, Hermione realized that now she was perhaps completely alone. Then she became aware that there was no other option for her but to trust Malfoy. Although she didn't believe completely in the purity of his intentions, she was ready to agree to this, but only on one condition.

"Would you consent to going to Dumbledore and telling him about what happened to us and about all of your activities at the orders of Voldemort?"

Draco flinched at the sound of Voldemort's name.

"Will you admit to him that you wear the Dark Mark?"

Draco felt as if his insides started to dance the cancan, but he was not sure whether it was from nerves or joy because things finally started to go his way.

"Yes," he answered.

"I still don't understand why you are doing this."

"Maybe I was looking for an excuse," he said after a moment. "For a long time I didn't believe that the Dark Lord does what is right and I didn't believe in this nonsense about blood purity. Until now, I just didn't know how I could cut myself away from that. This child is my chance for a fresh start, a new and completely different life. Without this child, I couldn't just come to one of you and say that I wanted to change sides."

A bright smile appeared on Hermione's face and Draco congratulated himself for his perfect lie.

**Please review!**


	6. New Allies

**Kermit 304** they don't need to have more visions. I see canon Draco as little boy, that's why I show him like this.

**shaymars** his views will change, but not yet. It have to take some time to change him. But he will change, I promise.

**ASJS**, **pcirish****, ****lakelady8425****, ****Nikki1473****, ****SugarSweet82**thank you for your reviews.

Chapter 6  
New Allies

When Ginny stormed into the Gryffindor common room out of breath, she looked around. Harry and Ron were not there, so she ran up the stairs to their dormitory, knocked and, without waiting for an answer, she opened the door. She almost collided with Neville, who was just leaving, headed to the Great Hall for dinner. She quickly apologized to him then burst into the room and, seeing that Harry and Ron were alone, she slammed the door shut with a bang.

"You won't believe what I have just seen!" she cried out in response to their questioning glances.

"What?" they asked at the same time.

"I don't believe it! I still can't believe it, despite the fact that I saw it with my own eyes," she said as she walked nervously around and tried to stop the shaking of her hands.

"Well, spit it out already," Ron urged her impatiently, suspecting that it was just a stupid rumor or something like that. Ginny didn't comment on his nasty tone, because what she wanted to say was more important.

"I was walking back from the pitch when, near the entrance, I saw Malfoy embracing Hermione!" She looked at the two boys, waiting for their response. She thought they would scream and say that it was impossible, that it was a delusion. She thought they would inquire about the details of exactly what happened and what the circumstances were, and then they would ask if she was certain that the people she saw were Malfoy and Hermione. To her amazement, neither Harry nor Ron seemed to be surprised by this revelation.

"Did you hear?! I saw Hermione and Malfoy!" she repeated.

"Yes, we know," Harry said sadly.

"How?" She was surprised by his answer.

"It's been happening for some time," Ron explained.

Ginny suddenly understood why things were strained between the boys and Hermione. "Is that why you don't want to talk to her?" she asked.

"Yeah. The worst part is that she still denies everything, even though we've caught them so many times," said Ron.

"Since when did you know?"

"From that evening when you found us frozen in the empty classroom," explained Harry.

"But we suspect that it may have lasted a lot longer."

"I can't believe it!" Ginny said and sat down hard on Ron's bed. "Tell me everything from the beginning," she asked after a moment.

Harry and Ron looked at each other and both of them nodded slightly. They came to the conclusion that since Ginny already knew so much, they might as well tell her the rest.

"We saw them shagging in that empty classroom. They didn't know that we were there," Harry began.

Ginny's jaw dropped and her hand went immediately to her mouth.

"It's impossible," she finally whispered. "Maybe it was some kind of hallucination?"

"We haven't been seeing things, Ginny! It was real!" burst Ron.

"At first, I thought that it was the effect of some kind of potion, but then I remembered I overheard them quarreling a few days earlier. It was only after I saw them together that I realized that they argued like a couple, rather than enemies. Hermione said something about being a pure blood and Malfoy didn't deny it. Then he said that it was Hermione's idea to use Kreacher to lure me into the Ministry. Hermione also spoke about the fact that they were a couple and that they would get married in the future," Harry continued to explain.

"But Hermione is a Muggle-born. And I don't believe that she was behind the trap to lure you into the Ministry," insisted Ginny. "When we fought in the Ministry, she was on our side."

"I also thought it was bullshit, but then I saw them―" Harry was not able to finish his sentence, because he remembered the horrible experience of not being able to turn his head away from Hermione and Malfoy. "She played her role well at the Ministry. The Death Eaters knew that she was on their side, because Dolohov didn't use _Avada Kedavra_ when he cast a spell at her. He could have killed her, but she came out of that fight without much damage."

"No, no, no!," Ginny said, not wanting to believe that it was true.

"Since then, we've seen her with Malfoy a few times on the Marauder's Map. They meet in the same classroom every time," added Ron, when his little sister calmed down a little.

"Also, Malfoy saved her from the falling bookstand during our DADA lesson. He thought that no one saw him, but we did. Later, she visited him in the hospital wing," ended Harry.

"This is really a little too much to be a coincidence or mistake," said Ginny, with resignation in her voice. "But, somehow, it's still hard for me to believe in all of this."

"Yeah. The same goes for us," Ron agreed with her.

"We need to know the whole truth, so now we're trying to discover Hermione's pure-blood status and if she is helping Malfoy with his mission. But we still don't have much. Malfoy disappears from the map and Hermione, as usual, spends most of her time in the library. Has she asked you any strange questions, said something suspicious?" asked Harry.

"No, I don't remember anything like that," replied the clearly upset red-haired girl.

"We wanted to search through her belongings, but we can't enter into the girls' dormitory. Can you help us?"

"I don't think we should Ron..." began Ginny.

"Ginny, it might be important!" said her brother, irritated with Ginny's hesitance to help them.

"Do you think we will find something about her being a pure-blood? I think we should start from there. I don't know how to go about checking someone's background. Her Muggle parents could have adopted her or something."

"Yeah, Ron and I are stuck on the same idea," admitted Harry. "We don't know how to solve it."

"Can't we just talk to her?" Ginny asked shyly.

"That is not an option," protested Ron. "She is very intelligent. She has been able to deceive us this whole time. She could easily pull the wool over our eyes, again."

"Right," Ginny agreed, and all three fell silent, dangling their heads and thinking about the answers to the nagging questions.

Narcissa Malfoy walked through the dark streets of Muggle London and looked around. The Muggle dress she was wearing caused her a lot of discomfort. Despite the fact that Narcissa knew that this outfit would help her blend in with the environment, she couldn't stop feeling as if she was wearing something highly inappropriate and downright funny.

Since it was a Saturday night, from time to time Narcissa would pass a group of drunk, screaming young people who staggered around singing terribly vulgar songs out of tune and who sometimes tried to talk to the witch. Narcissa went on, however, not replying. She preferred not to enter into any interactions with Muggles because they filled her with disgust. And after watching them tonight, she hated Muggles even more than before. But she knew that she was in this terrible place for a reason: she was looking for a Muggle who would be suitable for the implementation of her plan. Unfortunately, so far no one had raised her interest. A homeless person who had no family and friends would be the best choice.

At this point, she passed an advertisement pillar that caught her attention. She looked at the ragged, unmoving Muggle poster hanging on the post and couldn't believe her own eyes. A familiar face looked at her from the poster. A new, brilliant idea popped into her mind. Although the character in the picture lacked the aristocratic facial expressions and beautiful, long, blond hair, Narcissa found the similarities sufficient enough for her needs. She came to the conclusion that a simple spell would solve the hair problem and she hoped that only a few people would be able to notice the absence of noble features. The poster informed the public about a meeting between fans and Jason Isaacs, a famous British actor. The appointment was set for the 15th of April, which meant that only a few days separated Narcissa from implementing her plan. She smiled to herself, looked around and pulled out her wand. She waved it negligently and the poster detached from the pillar, rolled up, and flew straight into Narcissa's pocket. She looked around again, and when she was sure nobody saw her, she apparated with a crack.

Hermione and Draco stood in front of the stone gargoyles wondering which sweet delicacy could be the password to Dumbledore's office. They were beginning to lose patience, because they had probably mentioned all the sweets they could think of, ranging from Lemon drops, to Every Flavor Beans, to Chocolate Frogs.

"You are such a teacher's pet and you don't even know the password," mocked Draco. He knew he should be nice, but he just couldn't restrain himself from teasing her.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Hermione wanted to add something else, but suddenly the stone gargoyles began to move slowly. Hermione and Draco looked at each other, puzzled, and then at the open entrance, where, a moment later, the tall figure of the old, bearded wizard with half-moon glasses appeared.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, what a surprising visit. And you are here together. To what do I owe this pleasure?" the old man asked, smiling at them genially.

"Good morning, sir. We need to talk to you urgently," Hermione replied immediately.

"Of course. Come in, my dears," the headmaster said, and then turned his back to them and walked into the office.

For a split second, Draco thought that now was the perfect opportunity to kill the old man. He only had to quickly pull out his wand and hit him with a spell on his back. "How unwise of Dumbledore to turn his back to people," thought Draco. However, the idea was rejected as quickly as it had come to his mind. After all, Dumbledore had to stay alive to protect him.

Draco and Hermione went after the old wizard and entered his office.

"Sit down, please," Dumbledore suggested when everyone entered into the study. He waved his wand and two seats appeared in front of his desk. He sat in his usual place behind the table. "So why did you come to me?"

Draco and Hermione sat down on the places offered to them and they began to look around. There were a lot of books in the office. Hermione had to restrain herself from getting up again and checking to see what titles could be found on the shelves. There were also piles of magical items and bottles of various potions. Portraits of all the former headmasters of the school, most of who pretended to be asleep, hung up on the wall. Phineas Nigellus was peeking with one eye, wondering what important issue made his descendant and the Mudblood come to the headmaster's office at the same time. Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, sat on its perch, close to the headmaster's desk. The bird was busy with cleaning his feathers and seemed to pay no attention to the newcomers.

"We wanted to tell you―" Hermione began.

"We have to say two things," Draco cut her off.

"I understand. Miss Granger, please continue."

"I…I don't know how to begin," Hermione stammered, blushed and looked at Dumbledore's blackened hand, resting limply on the desk. For the first time in her life, she couldn't answer a question smoothly.

"It all started some time between the end of February and the beginning of March," Draco said. He was also uncomfortable with telling anyone about the recent developments between him and Granger, but he realized that Granger wouldn't be able to voice what had happened.

"It was the end of February, just before Ron's birthday," she interrupted.

"I think it was someone's stupid joke," Draco continued, not paying attention to what Hermione said. "Someone made a potion that made me think about Granger in a way that I've never thought of before."

"In what way?" the headmaster asked.

"Well, you know..." The boy said, slightly irritated. "I saw her everywhere in indecent poses and wearing revealing clothes. She would tempt me and then disappear. As a result, I couldn't stop thinking about her," he finished, embarrassed, and his usually pale face was now red.

"And you, Miss Granger, did you have similar symptoms?" the headmaster asked.

"Yes," she replied quietly and, like Draco, blushed beet red.

"So what happened next?"

"We don't know how it happened, but it intensified and, at one point, we weren't able to control ourselves and ended up doing it when we ran into each other," Draco explained, even more embarrassed. Although he had a lot of experience in this area and talked with his housemates on such topics, he never had to externalize in front of any adult, especially the school principal. Although he told this story to his mother, he did it in a letter, which was much easier.

"I can't believe it! My great, great, great grandson was with a Mudblood!" Phineas Nigellus was outraged, but nobody was paying attention to him.

"Do you still have these visions?" the headmaster inquired.

"No. It stopped after we...well, you know." Draco didn't know how to put into words what he wanted to convey. None of the words he normally used when talking to his colleagues fit the current situation.

"I understand." Dumbledore saved Draco the trouble of having to talk further about that night. "It had to be the _Effectus__Cupiditas_ potion. Did you turn to me so that I could find and punish the perpetrator? Why only now?"

Both Hermione and Draco got red again.

"It's not that," muttered Malfoy.

"Then what is it?" the headmaster asked.

"Granger is pregnant," blurted Draco.

Hermione looked at him as if betrayed. She had hoped that Malfoy would say it in a little less pointed a manner.

"It's not our fault. It's because of the potion that we didn't think about the consequences," she tried to defend herself.

"You can't kick us out of Hogwarts!" Suddenly, Draco got frightened.

"And do you mind telling me why, Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked, even though there wasn't even a hint of severity on his face.

"It's quite complicated," Draco said. "The second cause of our visit will explain everything to you."

"Take it easy, my dears," the headmaster soothed them. "First, you have to finish talking, then we will think about what are we going to do with this situation."

"This is my child and I don't want anything to happen to it," the boy said.

"Even if it is half-blood?" the headmaster asked, becoming interested in Draco's response.

"Yes," Draco answered without hesitation.

"Interesting..."

"We need your protection," Draco continued his explanations. "But before I say anything more, you must first promise me that I won't find any negative consequences for what I've done so far," Draco said, setting his condition. He was afraid to tell the truth, because he knew that he almost caused the death of two Hogwarts students: Katie Bell and Ronald Weasley.

"Mr. Malfoy, it's difficult to promise such things without knowing the case, but we'll see what I can do when I hear the whole story," Headmaster Dumbledore answered diplomatically.

Draco hesitated for a moment. His whole life he was taught not to enter into agreements if the conditions were not sure, but the boy came to the conclusion that there was no other choice but to take the risk. Upset to the limit, he clenched his hands on the arms of the chair he was sitting in so tight that they became almost completely white due to the lack of blood flowing to them. Then he opened his mouth to tell Dumbledore everything.

"Okay then," he began shakily. "Last summer, I was called to the Dark Lord."

Hermione's eyes widened in horror.

"I officially became a Death Eater, and then the Dark Lord entrusted me with a mission."

"So, Harry was right the whole time!" Hermione blurted out without thinking about what she was saying.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore continued to stare at Malfoy with an understanding smile.

"Yes, he was right!" Draco replied, annoyed. "Granger, can you stop interrupting me?!"

"I'm sorry," she replied, embarrassed.

"The Dark Lord threatened to kill me if I refused to perform this task." Draco hoped that if he portrayed himself as a victim he would get more goodwill from the headmaster.

"What was this task about, Mr. Malfoy?"

"The task has not yet been completed. I still have time to fulfill it by the end of the school year. It consists of two main parts: first, I have to allow Death Eaters access into the castle," he explained. "And second, I have to kill you," he added, a lot quieter.

Hermione gasped, horrified.

"Interesting." Dumbledore seemed to be unmoved by these revelations. "And how did you intend to do this?"

"I wanted to let Death Eaters into the school through the Room of Requirement. I found the vanishing cabinet in there, which leads to its partner in Borgin and Burkes. However, the cabinet at Hogwarts is broken and, for the past few months, I have tried to fix it. So far, I haven't succeeded." The last sentence he uttered quietly, as if ashamed of his incompetence.

"Very clever," the headmaster praised him, which left both teenagers in complete amazement.

The boy also felt some satisfaction, because this was the first praise he received in connection to the mission assigned to him by the Dark Lord.

"And how were you going to kill me, Draco?" the headmaster asked after a moment.

The boy turned red from embarrassment because of whom he was telling all this to.

"With regards to the accidents of Bell and Weasley, they were not the original target," he said, his voice completely abandoned of self-confidence.

"Ron and Katie could have died because of you!" Hermione exclaimed, upset, and got up from her seat.

"It wasn't on purpose, okay?!" shouted an irritated Draco. What he was saying was not easy for him, and her interruptions hampered him even more.

At the same time, Hermione cursed herself for not believing Harry. Because of her skepticism, Ron almost died. She was also angry at Malfoy for even thinking about killing anyone. Now, two images of Malfoy fought in her mind: one, who she met recently, cared for her and the well-being of her unborn child and the other was an absolute killer. She was no longer sure which one of them was real. In order not to attack Malfoy, she had to remind herself that he had no choice; that, if he had done otherwise, he would die.

"Calm down, Miss Granger. I'm sure that Mr. Malfoy has changed his intentions. After all, he is telling us everything," Dumbledore reassured her. "Mr. Malfoy, were you working alone? How did you give the necklace to Katie?" asked Headmaster Dumbledore.

"I cast an Imperius Curse on Madam Rosmerta. She gave it to Bell," the boy replied.

"Madam Rosmerta!? How did I not figure that out!?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"Well, back to the point," Draco continued, ignoring Hermione's comment. "Granger, because of her background, is threatened by the Dark Lord, and what threatens her also threatens my child, so I can't perform the task entrusted to me. But if I don't do this, he will kill me as soon as I go back home for the holidays," explained Draco.

"It is indeed a difficult situation," admitted Headmaster Dumbledore, and he became thoughtful. "I think the safest course of action for both of you would be if, for the time being, this issue remained between us. Don't talk to anyone about the child, including information on its father. You have to keep it a secret for as long as possible, even into the next school year. Give me some time and I'll come up with the best place for Draco to hide during the holiday period. Some place where Voldemort won't find him."

Draco wasn't sure if he would ever get used to the sound of the Dark Lord's name.

"I will contact you when the time comes."

"Sir, what about my schooling?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"Do you have problems with any of your subjects, Miss Granger?" Headmaster Dumbledore asked, pretending not to know what Hermione meant.

"Of course not!" The girl frowned. "I was just wondering if, because of my condition, I will still be able to continue my education, sir."

"Of course, my dear. Why wouldn't you be able to continue studying? I think we can make some arrangements, when it becomes necessary." Headmaster Dumbledore calmed her fears and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Sir, there is something else," Hermione began hesitantly.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Harry and Ron told me that they saw us together and now they don't want to listen to any of my explanations. Ginny knows as well. All of them are not speaking to me," Hermione admitted sadly. "But they don't know about the baby," she said after a moment.

Dumbledore looked thoughtful.

"Harry is a smart boy. When the moment comes, we will deal with him and ."

Hermione felt relief flooding her. She had been waiting for so long to hear such words of comfort. Dumbledore was so confident that she didn't doubt the truth of these words for a moment.

"But for now, you two must learn to work together. You have to forget all the differences that divided you, because now you stand on the same side."

"Yes, sir," they said in unison.

"Is that all, my dears?" Headmaster Dumbledore asked, giving them a clue that it was time to leave the office if they had nothing more to add.

"Yes," they said at the same time, and got up from their seats. They said their goodbyes at the door and left the office.

"Did you hear everything?" Headmaster Dumbledore asked when it seemed that he was all alone in his office.

"Yes," said a voice coming from the dark recesses of the room. "I would never suspect that young Malfoy was capable of behaving in that way."

"I told you that you should have more faith in him. He has a pure heart. However, I believe that he didn't tell us everything and he is just starting to grow up. Despite all of this, I think we won that battle and very soon he will start to understand everything and will make the right decisions."

"I hope so," replied the voice. "And is that why you won't reconcile her immediately with her friends?"

"Exactly."

"And what about Draco's mother?"

"I think Draco has nothing to do with what she did."

Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table deep in thought as she picked at her plate of food with a fork. Thanks to the potion from Malfoy, she hadn't been troubled with morning sickness, but she had no appetite at the moment.

Suddenly, a flock of owls flew into the Great Hall and shoved her out of her reverie. One after another, the birds sat on the tables in front of the recipients of their letters and parcels. One of the owls sat down in front of Hermione. The girl untied her copy of the Daily Prophet from the animal's leg, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin, which she used to pay the bird for the newspaper.

Hermione unfolded the newspaper and, once again, grabbed her fork to finish her breakfast while reading. Suddenly, she froze with her eyes fixed on the front page.

Neville, who sat next to her, noticed her strange reaction.

"Hermione?" he asked, interested in what she was reading. He didn't receive any response. Hermione's eyes were now scanning the text that was published in the Daily Prophet. Neville looked around and realized that almost all the students who had subscribed to the Daily Prophet were reading it right now and they were equally moved by some information in the paper.

"Hermione, what happened?" he asked hesitantly. She said nothing, but handed him the paper. Neville looked at the first page and also froze in shock. At the center of the page was the big headline: _BELLATRIX LESTRANGE FOUND DEAD_. Neville's eyes immediately began to scan the article underneath.

_Our trusted source in the Auror Department reported to us that some time yesterday, during the late evening hours, a witch __walking by __Knockturn Alley __found a body __dressed up in__ Death Eater's robes. Horrified, the woman immediately notified the __appropriate authorities__, who soon tackled the matter._ _  
According to preliminary findings, __the body__of the deceased__was found__ visually __uninjured__. There is also no indication that the dead woman was recently suffering from a terminal illness. Therefore, it is almost certain that the death was due to the __casting__ of an __unforgivable __killing __curse on the victim__. Based on the wand found with the victim, she has been identified as Bellatrix Lestrange, a known Death Eater who escaped Azkaban, __where she __was serving a sentence__ after the disappearance of You-Know-Who more than fifteen years ago. Narcissa Malfoy confirmed the murdered woman as her sister._ _This death is so mysterious because the Avada Kedavra curse, which is prohibited by law, is only used by You-Know-Who and his followers. Bellatrix Lestrange has always been known for her loyalty to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, so it is highly unlikely that it was he, or any of his followers, that was involved in the murder. Nothing, however, can be excluded until all the circumstances of Bellatrix Lestrange's death are explained._ _  
The Auror Office ensures the public that they are doing everything possible to clarify the matter, but it is not a secret that the death of Bellatrix Lestrange is convenient for them and it can be assumed that none of the Aurors will __actually__attempt__ to find a wizard who, in reality, has done them a favor. Unofficially, several ministry workers have told me that they suspect that Aurors operating on their own are behind the murder. According to my source, these Aurors feared that if Bellatrix Lestrange was caught and locked in Azkaban, she would run away again. _ _Does it mean that this is just the beginning and now Death Eaters will be found dead every day on our streets? What about other Death Eaters who have escaped from Azkaban?  
We will keep you updated about the details of this fascinating story. _

_RS_

The information about Bellatrix's death spread like wildfire throughout the Great Hall, and the noisy conversations between excited student grew. Students who had not read the article yet tore the newspaper from their colleagues to see such a stirring text for themselves. Draco Malfoy sat thoughtfully before his copy of the newspaper and wondered how he should be feeling in this situation. He didn't know whether he should mourn the death of his aunt, be glad that one of the staunchest supporters of the Dark Lord was dead, or maybe fear some mysteriousavenger, like others who wore the Dark Mark on their forearm. The other Slytherins also seemed to be moved by the recent revelations, because if it was true that someone was murdering Death Eaters, this meant that most of their parents' lives were threatened.

The feelings of the students from other houses were completely different. Most of them were smiling and joking about the death of Bellatrix, pleased with what had happened. Many assumed it was a lone avenger who decided to deal with the supporters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on his own. "I am sure that someone is doing the dirty job for the ministry," Ron said to Harry. "First was the mysterious disappearance of Snape, and now, Bellatrix. I wonder who will be next," he added with a smile.

"You're right. It's certainly not Voldemort who did it," Harry agreed with him. "Last night, I found myself in his head again. He was furious and threw the _Cruciatus _curse at all of the Death Eaters who appeared within hissight. I didn't know why he was so angry. Now, it's clear he was concerned about Bellatrix's death."

"Anyway, we have one less problem," said Ron, who bared his teeth in a wide smile.

In a dark cell of Malfoy Manor's dungeon, a penetrating cold reigned. Draco sat huddled on the icy floor. His clothes were all in rags and his body was frostbitten and aching from the curses of other Death Eaters. Draco looked at the door that was almost invisible in the darkness of his cell. The sound of footsteps coming from behind the door caused a huge lump to form in his throat. He had a feeling that when the door opened, nothing good would happen. A few seconds later, it turned out he was right. He heard the sound of a key turning in the lock, and then the door opened, letting a shaft of light into the interior. At first, the light blinded Draco and he couldn't see who was on the threshold. After a while, his eyes became accustomed to the new conditions and he saw Dolohov and Avery entering his cell. Just behind them strode another figure. When Draco looked at his face, a shiver ran down his back. The Dark Lord stood before him with only fury on his near-human facial features. "And what will you tell me now, Draco? Was it worth it to betray me for the Mudblood?" the red-eyed man asked with severity.

"My Lord, I had to do it. I had no choice," Draco stammered quietly.

"Silence! I won't listen to your pathetic explanations! First, you betrayed me and now you've killed my most faithful..."

"My Lord, it wasn't me!" Draco rapidly denied.

"How can I be sure? If you could socialize with the Mudblood, you could also kill Bellatrix," while saying this, the snake-faced wizard pulled out his wand and pointed it at Draco.

"My Lord, please..." Draco begged, but Voldemort was unyielding to his requests.

"_Avada__Kedavra_," the parselmouth said through his teeth, and a green beam sped towards the blond.

Draco opened his eyes. His whole body was drenched in sweat and his hands were still shaking with fear. When he finally calmed down, he felt a great anger. Why did he have to go through all of this? When would he be able sleep in peace at night? Why was this Mudblood complicating his life so much? What if the Dark Lord really found out and killed him for treason? He didn't want to die. The worst part was that even if he didn't want to die, he had no other choice. There were only two options: certain death if he fulfilled the mission for the Dark Lord and then the Mudblood would be killed along with other Muggle-born students when the Death Eaters break into the castle, and almost certain death if he didn't perform the task and continued to protect the Mudblood. He was afraid that the solution Dumbledore would come up with to protect him woudn't be enough. Wasn't he sentenced to death regardless of which path he chose? And he had to walk around on tiptoe whenever he was near that damn annoying Mudblood. When would it finally be over? Draco was tired, not only mentally but physically, because the recurring dreams meant that he woke up in the middle of the night. He couldn't go back to sleep when he was filled with a number of concerns. In order to sleep peacefully, he drank a _Dreamless Sleep Potion_ from time to time before going to bed. But the blue shadows under his eyes still deepened. He hoped that something would happen soon and would improve the situation just a little bit, something that would give him even a glimmer of hope.

Because of the nightmares plaguing him, Draco couldn't sleep, so he went to the library before breakfast. He decided to write his potions essay and didn't want intrusive Slytherin girls to disturb him by trying to comfort him after the death of his aunt. When he got to the library, he sat down at one of the tables in the corner of the hall, pulled out a roll of parchment and some books and started writing. Unfortunately, he was unable to focus on what he was doing, because his thoughts still ran in the direction of the recent events. While he thought about his situation, Draco suddenly felt a presence beside him and looked up from the almost blank parchment.

"Hi," she greeted him hesitantly. Here was the cause of his recent troubles. "What are you doing here?" he asked, annoyed by her presence. "No one should see us together."

"I just wanted to know how you feel." Her face flooded with a blush. "It was your aunt, after all. Were you close to her?"

"Why do you care?" he snarled. "Shouldn't you be with the other Gryffindors right now, celebrating her death?"

"Although I didn't like her, that doesn't mean that I don't understand that you can feel differently about your aunt's death," she answered calmly, sitting down in a chair on the other side of the table.

"Don't worry. I'm a big boy and I can handle it," he tried to dismiss her.

"I'm sorry I asked." A delicate hint of resentment could be heard in Hermione's voice. "I thought you would be fed up with the Slytherins consoling you and having to dwell on a great loss to the Death Eaters. I just wanted to know how you really feel," she explained while standing up from her seat.

"It was not easy to like her or love her. I'm more worried about my mother and how she is taking it. Now that I'm here and my father is imprisoned in Azkaban, there is no one close to her in the Manor and, after all, Aunt Bella was her sister," he said when Hermione had already turned away to leave. She nodded in understanding.

"So, your mom is important to you?" Hermione said rather than asked. "What do you think she will do when she hears about the child?"

"I don't know. She loves me, but on the other hand she disowned her second sister because of the same reason."

"Are you not afraid of that?"

"Granger, I didn't ask you for a private therapy session." Draco was irritated when he realized what kind of conversation he let her pull him into. "I made my decision and I'm aware of the possible consequences. How I deal with this is not your business. Don't bother me. I have to finish an essay for potions."

Hermione shook her head.

"As you wish, but if you want to talk, just let me know," she said, leaving. She offered this proposal not only to help him deal with whatever was bothering him, but also in order to be able to understand his mind and why he chose to keep the child, knowing that by doing so he may lose his own mother and all the people whom he was close to. Besides, wasn't Malfoy tied to the money that his parents had? If they remove him from the family tree, wouldn't he lose the millions of galleons that he had always liked to brag about? Hermione had already decided that she would give him a chance, but she still couldn't trust him completely. Something didn't fit in this puzzle. Somehow, she couldn't believe that Malfoy was willing to sacrifice so much for this child.

At the same time, Draco wondered about what he had said to Granger. The truth was that he was worried about his mother, how she felt about being at the mercy of the Dark Lord without a loved one next to her. Draco realized that while he was afraid for his life in the safety of Hogwarts, his mother was exposed daily to the wrath of the Dark Lord.

He was surprised that Granger was interested in this at all. If he were in her place, he would be glad for the death of Bellatrix and wouldn't think about how her nephew felt. Once again, he realized he didn't understand Gryffindors and their way of thinking.

On the same day at breakfast, Draco got a letter from his mother. Without finishing his meal, he got up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall. Passing the Gryffindor table, he noticed that Granger was talking with Seamus Finnegan, laughing with him and joking about something. He felt a touch of irritation. It angered him that she could behave freely and carelessly when they had such a great problem over their heads. However, he stifled this feeling and didn't think about it any longer. He went out into the hallway and toward the courtyard. He didn't want any of the other Slytherins to look over his shoulder when he read the letter, because there could be some information that his colleagues didn't need to know. When he got to the courtyard, he found the most secluded bench, sat down and spread the roll of parchment sent by his mother.

_Dear __son__,_

_Perhaps__you already know__about your Aunt__Bella's death__from the Daily Prophet.__I just wanted to__write__ to __you__ and say __not to worry about me__, because I'm __handling__the situation__. __Aunt__Bella__was not very__ well-__liked__and had__many enemies,__ and I'm __sure it__had to__end__this way__sooner or later.__The three of us__(you__, dad __and I)__are still__alive and__that's__the most important thing._

_I hope__that Bella's death didn't depress__you__too much__because__now you have to__focus on the__task__of protecting__the girl.__  
__I am glad that__you were able to__finally__make some__progress__on this issue__and that you have__such an important__ally__in__Dumbledore__himself__._

_I believe__that everything__will work out__and that__things will__go__in the right direction,__finally__.__ I wanted__you to know that__not only__bad things have happened to__our family recently__. __I don't__want to write__about it in a letter__; __it is better__if you get__ the news as __a surprise._

_Meet me__ at __the__Hog's__Head__during__your__next__trip to__Hogsmeade.__I'm sure that__after our__meeting,__your__mood__will be as__good as mine__at the moment._

_ Love, _

_ Mum_

Draco was surprised by the indifference with which his mother wrote about the death of her sister. He knew that they had never been very cordial to each other, but that didn't mean that they didn't feel some kind of sisterly love for one another. After a while, the boy came to the conclusion that his mother was playing tough, not wanting him to worry. At this point, he couldn't do anything about it. He decided that when he met with her, he would pressure her and find out what she really felt and then he would help her cope with the pain, which she must certainly feel at this point.

When he came to this conclusion, he began to wonder what surprise his mother wrote about. He knew she wouldn't mention it to him if it was any boring, old crap. But what surprise could his mother have for him when there were only problems piling around and every day was dominated by the fear of whether or not they would survive all this turmoil?

At the same time, Hermione worried not only that she didn't fully understand Malfoy's motivations, but also about her own condition. So far, she had failed to visit the hospital wing, even though she knew that Madam Pomfrey should know about her pregnancy and check whether the child was developing properly. Hermione had always been reasonable, but in this case her common sense failed her. She was ashamed and didn't know if she would be able to confess to the mediwitch that she was expecting a baby. Confessing it to Dumbledore had been a completely different case. First, Malfoy was with her when she talked to the headmaster and second, the old wizard was not known for reproaching others and instead he focused more on solving problems. Pomfrey wouldn't only lecture her about how irresponsibly she behaved, but she would also ask her about the baby's father and Hermione couldn't give this information to her, not yet. The less people knew about the whole thing, the better. Hermione seemed aware however, that a visit to the hospital wing was inevitable and, sooner or later, Madam Pomfrey had to learn of her pregnancy. So now Hermione walked towards the hospital wing and she felt as if her legs were like cotton. She was so nervous that her every step came with great difficulty. When she reached the door leading to the hospital wing, she stopped, trying to collect all of the Gryffindor courage that she had. She took a few deep breaths and pushed the handle. When she stood in the doorway, she noticed that the hospital room was not empty. On the bed opposite the door lay a first-year Hufflepuff with a green face, who most likely was the victim of someone's stupid joke. A few beds further lay an older Ravenclaw. Judging by the sweat pouring down her face, she suffered from some kind of magical disease that caused high fever. A few more beds were occupied and the curious student watched her.

"Miss Granger," Pomfrey's voice greeted her. "What are you doing here? Is there something wrong?" the witch asked, approaching Hermione. The girl felt panic beginning to embrace her. She didn't want everyone staying in the hospital to hear what she had to say.

"Oh, no. No, it's not so urgent and I see that you're busy. I'll come another time," she stammered, and turned on her heel to leave.

"Nonsense, my dear. I'm not so busy. Tell me what happened. I'm sure we can handle it," she heard Pomfrey's voice say from behind her. She didn't stop, however. She ran to the library as fast as she could.

While she was there, she sought out the required shelf, chose a few books and then hid in the darkest corner of the library, making sure that no one saw her. The books she chose were related to medical diagnostic spells. When she noted all the necessary spells that she needed at that moment, she put the books down on a shelf and went on to search for other books about pregnancy and its progress. She selected the thickest of the books, but before she sat down at the table to get on with her reading, she looked around again and transfigured the cover of the book so now it looked exactly like a manual for numerology. Hermione spent the whole afternoon in the library, and when she returned to her dormitory, she immediately hid in the bathroom. There, she used her notes and, one after another, casted all of the diagnostic spells at herself. She calmed down a bit when she finished, because none of the spells indicated any abnormalities and, if casted correctly, it was presumed that she had nothing to worry about. Hermione knew she was very good with spells and probably didn't make any mistakes. That's why it was so easy to convince herself that her visit to the hospital wing was not necessary at this point, and that it could wait a little longer before she revealed her secret to Madam Pomfrey. Much calmer, she got back to her room and threw the piece of paper with the list of diagnostic spells into her trunk.

The awaited trip to Hogsmeade took place a few days later. Draco walked into the Hog's Head and looked around. He saw Narcissa at the same table that she sat at last time. However, now she was not alone. A dark, hooded figure sat next to her. The covering was so deep that Draco couldn't see the face of his mother's companion. He became slightly worried, but went to the table and sat down in the vacant chair. When he was seated comfortably, he didn't know how to ask who the unknown person was and what was going on. Before he could say anything, he saw the hand of the mysterious person. On one of the fingers gleamed a well-known gold signet ring with a snake engraved on a malachite bowl. Draco looked at his mother's face, which now hosted a wide smile. He responded to her smile with an equally wide smile of his own and looked back at the hooded figure. Narcissa had been right, Draco's mood clearly improved. He even forgot for a moment about all the mounting troubles and the terrible situation in which he found himself.

"How?" he asked, still grinning.

"It's all because of the Slytherin cunning and cleverness of your mother," replied the hooded man.

"Oh, don't overdo it," the woman cut him off. "I'm hopeless. I can't even cast _Avada Kedavra_."

"Don't worry, my dear. It was not that simple in this situation. I think I would have had similar difficulties if I came against the same circumstances," the man said, defending her.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, interested in their discussion. "I still don't understand how this happened. There was no news in the Daily Prophet that about you escaping from Azkaban."

"Because I'm still there," Lucius said, clearly pleased with something. Draco made a face expressing his absolute lack of understanding.

"At this point, it doesn't matter how," answered his mother. "All that is important is that we are together again."

"This is the best surprise," said Draco.

"I'm glad I gave you such joy," Narcissa said and looked at her son with tenderness. "But it doesn't mean, that now our problems will solve themselves," she changed the subject. "I told your dad about everything and our plan hasn't change. The most important thing is that the Mudblood has agreed to keep the baby."

"But I still don't understand how Draco could allow such a situation to happen. Son, how could you do such a thing? And with a Mudblood?" her husband interrupted. Draco felt very ashamed and lowered his head, not wanting to look at his father at the moment.

"Lucius, don't torment him. You know very well that it was not his fault. Nobody would be able to resist the effect of such a powerful potion. We all make mistakes and he didn't even have control over what he was doing at the time."

"But how could he have been so careless and let someone insert that potion into his drink?" Lucius persisted.

"I'm sorry. I must have let my guard down for just a moment," Draco replied quietly.

"What's done is done," Narcissa tried to end the discussion. "Tell me, my darling, did anything important related to us happen recently at school?"

"No, not really," Draco thought aloud. "Can you tell me if Aunt Bella's death has something to do with the disappearance of Professor Snape? They still haven't found him, and all the Slytherins are considering a connection between the two," he added after a moment.

"We know about as much as you do. Aurors told me to identify Bella when they found her body, but after I did, they didn't give me any further explanations. I know as much as anyone who read the article in the Prophet," explained Narcissa.

"Everyone in Slytherin House is afraid that someone is murdering Death Eaters and that their parents might be next."

"What nonsense!" Lucius frowned. "Besides, why do you believe that Snape is dead?"

"If he is alive, then where is he?" Draco asked, still unconvinced.

"My son, don't worry about that now. Focus on defending the Mudblood and getting her trust. Your father and I will take care of the rest," answered his mother.

"Dad, do you know what weapon the prophecy speaks of?"

"I analyzed the contents of the prophecy many times and I have to admit that I have no idea what kind of weapon it could be. Our family forgot about it a long time ago, so I'm curious how you will find it."

"Do you think I should start looking now? Where do I start?"

"I think that the prophecy says that you will find this weapon by accident, but only if you stay close to the Mudblood," Lucius explained, and Draco just nodded in understanding. "Let's go back to your task. Does the Mudblood trust you completely?" Lucius asked, changing the subject.

"I'm not sure. She still asks questions like why am I doing this and how is it possible that I came to terms with the fact that you will turn away from me when you find out about the child."

"Nosy chit! The girl should bow down to her betters," Lucius exclaimed, irritated. "She should be glad that you made this decision and not think about the reasons why." Lucius thought for a moment. "When you talk to her, you have to say what horrible parents we are and how glad you are to be unleashed from us," he added a moment later with a serious face.

"It will be difficult," said Draco, and he smiled slightly. "And do you think it's so easy to believe that I would give up the family fortune without regret?"

"She will believe you," Narcissa replied. "Alfard Black, brother of your grandfather, Cygnus Black, didn't have a wife or children. He died when you were five, but because he loved you, he left all his money for you in his will. Until your seventeenth birthday, all the money will be in our family vault at Gringotts. When you turn seventeen, this part of our family fortune, galleons, gold and jewelry, will be automatically deposited into your private account. The same applies to his estate and house-elves, which are currently being used at Malfoy Manor. It's quite a fortune because Uncle Alfard had a knack for business and instead of spending what he had, he invested the money and multiplied his original inheritance tenfold. You got nearly a third of our family's assets after his death," explained Narcissa. "So you'll still have millions of galleons even if you are cut off from us. You can tell the Mudblood this, and then she will come at you even more, hoping for social advancement."

"She would rather dream about freeing my house elves," Draco laughed.

"That's why Mudbloods shouldn't live among real wizards." Lucius grimaced in disgust as his wife nodded, fully understanding and sharing her husband's opinion.

"Everything seems so easy with you two," Draco confessed after a short silence that reigned at the table.

"Together, we are the perfect team," Narcissa laughed.

Draco couldn't disagree with her. Most teenagers didn't treasure the time spent with their parents, but it was different for the Malfoys. Draco could talk to his parents about everything because they were the only people in the world whom he trusted and whose opinion mattered to him.

He believed that the three of them were a perfect family and his parents had the best marriage that ever existed. Despite the fact that each of them had their own opinions and sometimes had different views on certain things, they always reached a compromise. To the outside world, they never showed that they didn't agree on something and just took a united front on all issues. His mother often gave way to his father, but he also agreed with many of her ideas.

Draco dreamed that one day he would find a girl with whom he could get along with as well as his parents. So far, none of the Slytherin girls that he met were even close to his requirements. Most of them looked at him with admiration and were ready to do everything he asked of them. None of them even tried to be his partner, someone who would be a real support in situations such as this. Draco often used the adoration bestowed upon him to his advantage, but didn't give those girls any serious thought.

An hour later, Draco said goodbye to his parents. Before returning to the castle, he had to buy a new quill and a number of other school supplies. He also wanted to visit the Quidditch shop and Honeydukes.

While following one of the streets in town, he saw Granger. The girl didn't see him because she was too busy talking to Seamus Finnegan. They were both joking and laughing. At one point, the boy grabbed her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing the back. Anger swelled inside of Draco. "How dare she!" he wondered. "She is pregnant with my child and is flirting with a bloody Gryffindor! What if it's more serious than it seems at first glance? She has no right to behave like that!" Draco was tempted to approach the girl and tell her what he thought, but he realized that he couldn't cause a scene, because everybody would realize that they had some kind of connection. Besides, he told her that they were not a couple, so in theory Granger had every right to flirt with who she liked. That thought didn't calm him, but not seeing any other solution, he decided to ignore what he just saw and went to Dervish and Banges instead.

**Please review!**


	7. A New Plan

Thank you for the reviews!

CheshireCat23 who knows what Narcissa did. Maybe you are right, maybe not.

shaymars we have to wait a little bit longer for him to change. You will see in this chapter, that it's not so easy for Hermione to visit Pomfrey.

Chapter 7

A New Plan

In the following days, Draco became more and more annoyed by Hermione's behavior. Not only had he seen her with Finnigan often, but he worried about her, in his opinion, laid-back approach to the pregnancy. He troubled her about it every time they managed to meet somewhere with no witnesses around. He reproached her about carrying too many books at a time, not eating enough, and other such things.

Hermione walked through the grounds heading to Hagrid's hut. Lately, she rarely visited him because she didn't want to discuss the topic of Harry and Ron. Until now, the three of them had visited Hagrid together, and he would certainly ask why they hadn't all come to see him. However, she decided to finally face him as Hagrid was experiencing a tough time and she wanted to support him. She also knew that if they completely stopped visiting him, he would be offended by them, like at the beginning of the school year when he realized that neither Hermione nor any of her friends had decided to continue his Care of Magical Creatures lessons.

Hermione had just passed a big pine tree by the lake when Draco overtook her.

"Where are you going, Granger?" he asked.

"None of your business," she replied, angry that he would bother her again with some nonsense about what she should and shouldn't do.

"Don't be so rude. I asked politely," he said, boiling with anger.

"I'm going to visit Hagrid. Aragog is very sick and Hagrid needs support."

"You are going to visit that great oaf because a giant spider is sick!? You really are messed up in your head. Maybe you should establish an organization engaged in saving dying acromantulas," he said, sneering at her.

"Hagrid is not an oaf!" She became even angrier. "And if you are talking about S.P.E.W., I think it's very important for wizards to realize what terrible lives house-elves lead. You better get back to the castle. I would prefer that Hagrid not see us together." Hermione still remembered that Draco was the cause of Hagrid's great trouble in third year, and he almost led to the death of Buckbeak, a hipogriff under Hagrid's care.

"Don't tell me what to do," he said, frowning. "I wanted to talk about the apparition lessons."

"What's your problem with apparition?" she asked, furious, and stopped walking for a moment to look at him angrily.

"You shouldn't continue with the lessons. It's dangerous," he explained. "I don't even want to wonder what might happen if you splinched yourself. Didn't you see what happened to Hannah Abbot's leg?" At the very thought of Granger splinching from the child, his guts danced the cancan.

"I am fully aware of what I am doing. So far, I haven't splinched even once. I managed to land in the target ring every time. I have never even left behind a fingernail," she answered, offended.

"I know. As usual, you are perfect," he said with a sneer. "But accidents can always happen."

"It won't happen to me," she said with a frown.

"But don't you plan on taking the exam? Practicing in an enclosed room at Hogwarts is different from taking the exam in Hogsmeade."

"Yes, of course I'm going to take it! I'm also going to pass it. All the books say that apparition during pregnancy is absolutely safe," she said assertively.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this to me?" he said, becoming increasingly upset.

"Why am I doing this to you?!" she exclaimed, surprised. "Maybe you're just jealous that you won't be able to take the exam yet?"

"I'm not jealous!" he bellowed when Hermione quickened her pace and left him behind. "Stupid Mudblood," he added with even more anger in his voice. He made sure that Hermione had gone and couldn't hear him.

Harry, Ron and Ginny sat in the Gryffindor common room and talked in whispers.

"Do I really have to?" asked Ron with a look of suffering on his face.

"Oh, don't whine," answered his sister. "I have the worst task."

"You say that because you don't have to spend the whole afternoon with Lavender," he replied, still unhappy.

"Ron, you know that now is the best time," Harry explained patiently. "Parvati went to the grounds with Padma and Hermione is in the library."

"I know, I know. Such a situation won't be repeated soon," said Ron with resignation.

"Ron, why don't you break up with her if she gets on your nerves so much? You have been avoiding her for a long time," Harry asked curiously.

"I'm not sure what I should tell her," admitted Ron.

"I think you should..." Ginny started but didn't finish because the frame of the Fat Lady's portrait opened up and Lavender came inside.

"Won Won!" she exclaimed, delighted. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Hi Lav," said Ron with an artificial smile plastered on his face. "Now that you found me, can we go for a walk to the lake?" he stammered, urged by Harry and Ginny's eyes.

"What a wonderful idea!" Lavender was pleased and ran over to Ron to give him a juicy kiss on the lips. Ron got up slowly, took her by the hand and led her out of the common room with a look on his face that rivaled Snape's while he watched Neville in Potions.

"Well Ginny, I'll sit here and be on the lookout for Parvati and Hermione's return."

Ginny just nodded and immediately ran up the stairs leading to the sixth year girls' dormitory.

Harry leaned back in his chair and opened his most recent favorite book: the potions textbook once owned by the Half-Blood Prince. Although he had this book for many months, he still couldn't get over how useful it was.

Nestled in his reading, Harry never once looked at his watch, so he was surprised when he heard footsteps on the stairs and saw Ginny running down. He checked the time and realized that she had spent over half an hour in Hermione's dormitory.

"I think I found something," she said excitedly. She sat on the arm of Harry's chair and pulled out a small scroll of parchment from her pocket.

"What is it?" he asked with interest.

"I'm not sure. It could be a code or recipe, but I think that it is most likely a list of spells. See for yourself," she said, giving him the piece of paper. Harry looked at the parchment and found Hermione's neat writing.

_12-16 pw__  
__leukotus__- purity__of blood –__blue good blood__, green __contaminated__w/ bac__  
__oxygeum__- the amount of__ox__given__from mother to child__in blood;__red good__, blue __too little__  
__longitudo__- fb size; orange__is normal__for the__pw__, purple __too small__  
__alererum__- the amount__ of __transferred__nut;__pink__right,__green__too low__  
__amplito__-__the level of magic__; yellow __is normal__, __red__no__magic in f blood_

"Despite the fact that I don't understand most of what is written here, these look like spells that test blood purity," said Harry.

"Exactly," she agreed with a look of confidence. "First is this _leukotus_. I thought it was obvious, but I don't know what this 'w/ bac' means. _Oxygeum_, of course, examines whether one's mother is a Muggle or a half-blood, but I don't understand why there is no corresponding test for the father. Do you think that's what _longitudo _is for?"

"Probably. 'Fb' could mean father's blood. But I don't know why it mentions size. And what does _alererum_ mean? The last one probably finds out if someone is a Muggle or a Squib."

"And what is '12-16 pw' at the beginning?" Ginny wondered. "Maybe Ron will have an idea."

"And why does Hermione need these spells? Could it be to prove to Malfoy that she is a pure-blood? Or maybe they need to test someone else? Maybe we should try these spells on ourselves. We could see what colors show up," Harry wondered.

"We better not. These spells can be dangerous and we could get hurt."

"You're right. We'll wait for Ron, and maybe, together, we will find the answers."

"Harry, do these notes mean that Hermione is as fixated on blood purity as Malfoy?"

"I don't know, Ginny," said Harry with resignation in his voice.

In the following days, Draco's mood worsened increasingly. The boy didn't know why. First, he thought it was because Dumbledore still hadn't come up with a plan for the holidays. Only after some time did Draco realize that his bad mood was not related to the lack of news from the headmaster. Instead, it was because he saw Granger with Finnigan more and more often. When he watched them laughing and talking together, a strange fear appeared in his heart. At first, he didn't know where this anxiety came from, but after a while he came to the conclusion that he was feeling this way because Finnigan could jeopardize his plan.

He realized that his nightmares had changed for some time. Now, he dreamed that he died at the hands of the Dark Lord because Granger bound herself to Finnigan. The prophecy would be fulfilled because he couldn't keep an eye on the girl. He didn't even want to think about what would happen to him if Granger and Finnigan really became a couple and if he actually lost his influence on what happened to the Gryffindor and their child.

At some point, Draco began to ponder whether or not he should talk to Granger about this, but he didn't know what he would say to her, especially since he never noticed that the relationship between the two went beyond anything more than just friendly conversation. However, he began to realize that he had to do something about it, but only one idea came to his mind.

The day of the apparition exam finally came. From early that morning, Draco had felt a growing frustration. Not only could he not hold back Granger from taking the exam, but he couldn't keep an eye on her during the examination, as only those students who were taking the exam were authorized to leave the castle.

Since all the students taking the exam had gone, Draco couldn't find any peace for himself . He was not able to concentrate during lessons and when they finished, he walked through the castle in search of something that he couldn't define.

Finally, he concluded that the most prudent action was to wait for Granger's return near the main entrance. At first, he sat at the entrance hall trying to read a book, but realized that there was absolutely no sense in doing this when he read the same sentence for the fifth time in order to understand its contents. So now he walked around and felt like a complete idiot, because the students and teachers who passed him by looked at him as if he had completely lost his mind.

When dinnertime finally approached and the corridors were empty as most of the hungry students had gone to the Great Hall, Draco suddenly heard footsteps and the laughter of a group of people walking toward the castle. In order to maintain an illusion of dignity, he quickly hid behind one of the castle's thick pillars, where he could watch the sixth years returning from Hogsmeade without being noticed by them.

Moments later, when all the students were inside the castle, Draco realized that his attempt to hide was not necessary because they were talking excitedly about the exam and weren't paying attention to what was happening around them. Draco noticed that most of the students were smiling and joking, which indicated that the exam was mostly successful. Weasley, however, didn't seem to be happy and was shouting in disbelief about half an eyebrow. Draco guessed that he was one of the few who didn't pass and if it had been a normal day a few weeks ago, Draco wouldn't have hesitated to tease him for his incompetence. Now, however, Malfoy had more important issues on his mind, so instead of bothering Weasley, he swept his eyes over the group of students, looking for Granger.

She walked in almost at the end. She was smiling, clearly pleased with herself, which led Draco to believe that nothing bad had happened to her or the child during the examination. He felt an incredible sense of relief and joy. He wanted to run up to her and embrace her out of happiness, despite the fact that she was a Mudblood. But as soon as he had that thought, he noticed that Granger was once again talking cheerfully with Finnigan. When the boy said something to her, she laughed merrily and suddenly, to Draco's great horror, she grabbed Finnigan's neck and kissed him on the cheek.

Draco felt rage. He waited for her all day and now she was behaving like this! He decided to follow her and Finnigan.

He tracked the group of Gryffindors, hiding behind massive pillars so that no one saw him. When the students dispersed and spread out around the castle in smaller groups, Draco continued to keep his eye on the girl.

At some point, it was just her and Finnigan. When it seemed that they were returning to the Gryffindor common room together, Finnigan suddenly remembered something, slapped his palm on his forehead, made his excuses to the girl and ran away in the opposite direction.

Taking this opportunity, Draco jumped out from his hiding spot, grabbed a surprised Granger by the wrist, and pulled her with him behind the pillar where he had been a moment ago.

"What are you doing?!" she asked, furious. "What do you want Malfoy? Do you want to know if I passed the exam? I passed. Nothing happened. Nothing."  
"I want to know about Finnigan," he explained, even more upset.  
"What about Seamus?"  
"I've seen you two together very often lately! And you just kissed him!" Draco wished at that moment that he hadn't acted so impulsively, because he didn't know what he should say to the girl. "Are you a couple?" he finally asked. Hermione looked at him with a mixture of surprise and amusement. "Even if we are, it is none of your business," she retorted after a while. It annoyed her that he still tried to control her and now he wanted to dictate who she could date. There was absolutely nothing beyond friendship between her and Seamus, but she wouldn't admit it to Malfoy. At the same time, Draco's heart leapt into his throat. He felt panic began to embrace him. "You can't," he only managed to voice.  
"And why is that?" she challenged.  
"Because, because..." he began to stutter, wondering what he should say. Only one idea came to his mind, and he felt that it was time to implement it. He reminded himself that his mother gave him permission to do whatever he deemed appropriate, and that he had to do it for his sake and his family. But right now, he couldn't seem to say a word. Instead, he pushed the girl toward the pillar with his body, grabbed her chin with his hand and, without thinking, clung to her lips with his mouth. Initially, Hermione tried to escape, but after a short while she gave up. Draco reduced the pressure of his body on her much smaller figure and began to gently kiss her lips. Surprised, Draco realized that the feeling was not as bad as he had expected. During this kiss, he had forgotten who his partner was and he felt the same excitement as when he was with one of the Slytherin girls. When he deepened the kiss, she didn't protest, but very tentatively reciprocated his caresses. She stroked his tongue unsteadily with her own while at the same time allowing him to penetrate deeper and deeper into her mouth. Neither of them seemed to realize it when he took her by the waist and she clasped her arms around his neck. When they finally broke apart, they gazed into each other's eyes. For a moment, neither of them said a word.  
"I think we should try it," he broke the silence.  
"What?" she asked in a whisper, still stunned by what had happened.  
"You know, if we're together...You know, baby and all―" He didn't know how to put into words what he wanted to say. He didn't know how he could convince her.  
"I thought you said you were not interested?" she asked suspiciously when she realized what he was trying to say. "I changed my mind," he explained.  
"And it didn't occur to you that I may not want to?"  
"If so, you just gave me a different impression," he said as his face broke into his characteristic smirk.  
"You surprised me."  
"We will have a child together. Don't you think we should give him a chance to have a normal family with parents who are together?"  
"But you get on my nerves and you hate me," she noted.  
"How am I getting on your nerves? I've been trying very hard not to tease you."  
"But you don't trust my decisions and act like you know everything about pregnancy, although, unlike me, you haven't read any books about it."  
"You are getting pert again," he said, irritated. "You see? Do you really want to be with a Muggle-born girl that you hate?"  
"I no longer understand what I feel. You piss me off, but when I see you with him I get so mad...Let's try, and if it doesn't work, then we will go back to our previous agreement."  
"It may just annoy you that you have no control over me and that I can get together with whoever I want." Draco silently cursed that she figured him out so easily. Never in his life did he have to convince a girl to be with him. If he proposed a relationship to any Slytherin girl, she would agree without hesitation and would not even think about his motives. And now this annoying Mudblood dared to question the sincerity of his intentions. He didn't quite know how to answer her, so he decided to attack, knowing that the best defense was a good offense. "I'm not surprised that Weasley chose Brown. She probably does not look for problems where they don't exist, and she is happy that someone is interested in her." Hermione made an indignant face.  
"And maybe I'm not interested in you! Not every girl thinks that to be with you is the pinnacle of her dreams. Personally, I prefer men who are less presuming." Hermione didn't want to say it out loud, but the remark about Ron and Lavender really hurt her. Although she was not sure she was still in love with Ron after he and Harry had treated her so terribly, she still preferred him in Malfoy's place. Draco was furious at her words, because he really believed that he was all that a girl could dream about, and here was the Mudblood refusing him. He hated the fact that he had to grovel in front of her, but he figured if he was in for a penny, he was in for a pound.

"Don't you think you're being selfish?"

"What?!" she asked, amazed.

"You're only refusing to get your way."

"That's not true!"

"Then why won't you try?"

"Not only have you treated me terribly for the last several years, but you are still an arrogant ignoramus who thinks he will always get what he wants. You change girls like gloves and don't bother with their feelings. Wasn't it you that I saw a few days ago snogging some Slytherin girl?"

"Are you afraid that I would cheat on you?" he asked in astonishment.

"I think that's obvious. It's in your nature."

"Then you don't know me."

"Really? And is that why I still see Slytherins who despair from your betrayal?"

"I didn't promise anything to them. Only one kiss is enough for girls to think that we are together."

"So why would you promise anything to me?"

"It's because we are having a child together. I won't lie and say that I'm in love with you or anything like that, but I know that I am willing to sacrifice my freedom in order to ensure that our child has a normal family," he said after a little thought.

"Oh, how noble you are, sacrificing yourself for the child," she mocked.

"Didn't I prove to you how much I'm willing to sacrifice for this child? Didn't I go with you to Dumbledore and change sides in this war for this child?" he said, quieter than a whisper.

Hermione mused.

"This is not a marriage. If we come to the conclusion that it isn't working, we will part. Try to get to know me and see if I am different from what you think," he finished, cursing his fatal predicament. He was terrified by the thought that he would be in a relationship with a Mudblood, even if it was a fake one. He would have to go on dates with her, be nice to her, and even act romantic. Somehow, he would have to convince her that they were a good match, so that she would not even think for a minute of breaking up with him. He would have to restrain himself from arguing with her. He knew that there was no other choice and that now, when he has almost convinced her, it was too late to withdraw.

"For the sake of the child?" she said, unsure if she was asking Malfoy or herself. She knew that Ron was with Lavender and it was useless to delude herself into thinking that something would change, especially since he didn't want to talk to her.

"Yes," he said and smiled at her, but inside he felt a lot of conflicting emotions. He didn't know whether he should be glad that she was softening toward the idea or despair that he was caught up in a liaison with a Muggle-born. He knew that this was a fake relationship and when everything was over, it would cease to exist. He could toss the memory of Granger into oblivion, and he would once again be free. But in spite of everything, it still bothered him. "Okay, so it's set. Our first date will be at seven o'clock on Saturday evening near the big rock by the lake."

Hermione looked at him, shocked that they were really going to try this and only nodded.

Draco's mouth twisted into something between a grimace and smile. "Almost no one goes there. We should be safe." It was obvious that this relationship must remain a secret for both of them.

Although Draco still had many doubts, after some consideration when he returned to his dormitory, he was in a very good mood. After all, his mother had told him that he could do whatever was necessary, and this fake relationship with the Mudblood was vital to the plan. He felt proud of himself for solving the problem of Finnigan and that he was able to manipulate Granger so easily. Also, he was relieved that he didn't feel the immediate need to run to the bathroom and brush his teeth after their kiss. Since they were now in a 'relationship,' he would probably have to kiss her more than once, and if he felt disgust after each kiss, it would be really hard to keep up the charade. Without the distraction he could devote himself to his new mission.

When he stopped tormenting himself about his terrible plight, he felt that he had to relieve the tension that had built in him throughout the day. Draco knew there was only one reliable way to do it, so he left the dormitory in search of a Slytherin girl who could make his evening more pleasant.

The next day, Draco cursed his choice of companion for the evening. It wasn't that the time spent with Tracey Davis wasn't pleasant; it was quite the contrary. Unfortunately, the girl began to hope for too much after their rendezvous. She looked at Draco with dreamy eyes and smiled at him every time he glanced at her. At first, it didn't bother Draco because he was used to such behavior from girls. However, Tracey went too far when, walking next to Draco on the way to breakfast, she tried to grab his hand. Not wanting to make an unnecessary fuss, Draco didn't react too harshly and just pulled his hand from hers and quickened his pace.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the girl to realize that their night together didn't mean that they were a couple. She continued to try to get close to him. She hoped to sit at the same bench with Draco for every lesson, and was clearly disappointed whenever he announced that the place next to him was occupied by Crabbe or Goyle.

The truth reached Tracey right before Potions, the last lesson of the day, when Draco once again refused her a place by his side. Sitting on the bench next to Daphne Greengrass, Tracey continued to watch Draco, but this time without the dreamy expression on her face. She was rather sad. When she realized that Draco had never once looked in her direction throughout the entire lesson, she made a decision: she would request an explanation.

After class finished, Tracey stood up from her desk and walked over to Draco, who was packing his belongings.

"Did I do something wrong?" asked the girl.

Draco looked at her in surprise. "No. Why?"

"You act as if nothing happened yesterday." "And how do you think I should behave?" he said, slightly annoyed. He hated having such conversations with disappointed girls.

"I thought you would behave like a boyfriend does towards his girlfriend."

"But I'm not your boyfriend."

"But...but I thought..." Tracy began with difficulty, trying to keep from sobbing. Draco noted with dismay that her behavior was attracting the attention of not only the other Slytherins, but also Gryffindors and Granger amongst them. Draco suddenly remembered their conversation from the previous day and realized that Granger couldn't find out about what happened between him and Tracey.

"Stop weeping. I promised you nothing," he replied dryly.

"How can you do this to me? We were together!"

Draco started to panic, because he noticed Granger watching him and Tracey closely while pretending that she was packing up her things. He was sure she heard what the upset girl said.

"We'll talk about this in the common room. You can't make a show of me in front of the Gryffindors," he growled through his teeth.

"But, Draco..."

"Go to the common room. I'll be right there," he interrupted with a tone that brooked no argument. Having no other choice, she went back to the bench to pack her belongings, still crying.

Draco walked towards the exit. Although the danger was averted at the moment, he was bothered. He realized that in order for Granger to believe in his transformation, similar scenes couldn't take place again. But how would he stop Slytherin girls from broadcasting what they did together before the whole school? It was absolutely impossible and Draco realized that the only way out of this situation was to stop having one night stands with any girls. The thought terrified him, because he couldn't imagine not having anymore sex.

Before he could despair over his terrible position, a new thought came to him. If kissing Granger had ceased to disgust him, and since she was supposed to be his girlfriend, she should satisfy his sexual needs. His mother told him that he could do anything he needed in order to get close to Granger. After all, the girls who had sex with him never forgot him. Granger couldn't be an exception. Therefore, Draco would kill two birds with one stone: he would have his needs fulfilled and he would make Granger fall for him.

Draco entered the Owlery thinking about his new plan. He pulled out a roll of parchment and wrote:

_That was old news. There's no need to be jealous. See you Saturday._

_DM_

He called one of the school owls and tied the letter to its feet. He knew he had to calm down Granger, because she definitely suspected something when she observed the scene in the Potions classroom.

After sending the letter, Draco began to plan for Saturday evening. If he was going to seduce Granger, he had to come up with something romantic, because she, unlike the Slytherin girls, wasn't in love with him yet.

When Saturday afternoon came, Hermione felt the panic begin to embrace her. She didn't know what to expect from the meeting with Malfoy. What if he was only making a joke out of her and didn't appear at their meeting, or worse, showed up there just to laugh at her. The idea flashed through her head to send Malfoy a letter and cancel their date. But then she began to think about her child. Was Malfoy right that she should give their child a chance for a normal family? Although she was still unable to imagine herself and Malfoy becoming a normal couple, she found that this was a better option than the prospect of being a single mother. Malfoy had already proved to her that he wanted to change and had cut ties with the Death Eaters and Voldemort. Hermione felt that she should take a chance and she started to prepare for the meeting.

She stood in front of the mirror, wondering what she should put on and what to do with her hair. She figured that she would dress nicely, but not enough to arouse anyone's suspicions. Since it was the weekend, she could opt out of the mandatory uniform. She chose her favorite plaid skirt and a T-shirt with short sleeves. She left her hair free and put soft makeup on her face. When she found that she looked appropriate, she walked out of the dormitory and headed outside.

When she reached the lake, she had the impression that Malfoy had pulled a prank on her because he was nowhere near the huge stone on which they had agreed. Only when she walked around the stone did she see the Slytherin on the other side. He was standing there, looking at the lake. Hermione came over and stood right behind him.

"Hi," she greeted him uncertainly. He jumped slightly, surprised by her sudden appearance, and then turned around.

Draco had been thinking about his confrontation with Tracey from the previous day. She waited for him after classes in the Slytherin common room, just as he ordered. She still hoped that Draco would change his mind and they would become a couple. Draco talked to her for almost an hour, arguing that he was not interested in having a relationship with her. Despite that, she still seemed unconvinced and her promise to not 'bother' him had to be enough for now. After this conversation, Draco was even more convinced that he couldn't afford similar situations in the future. The thought made him even more determined to seduce Granger, because the prospect of not having sex for at least a few months, maybe even years absolutely terrified him.

"Hi," he said to her in greeting, then he leaned over and kissed her on the lips. Hermione stiffened momentarily, surprised by his actions, and then her face became covered in red. Confused and tense, she bit her lower lip nervously, then cleared her throat softly.

"What are we going to do?" she asked after a moment.

"I have a surprise," he said with pride in his voice. "Sparky!" he cried. There was a crackling sound and then a small, frightened-looking house-elf apparated in front of them. "Prepare everything," commanded Draco. The elf nodded and immediately began to conjure up a blanket, picnic basket, plates, napkins and other small items handy for a picnic.

"What is this?" Hermione asked with exasperation.

"A picnic. I thought we would sit on the blanket, eat and observe the sunset over the lake," he explained without noticing the tone of her voice. He was sure that every girl at Hogwarts would give up anything for a romantic evening with him.

"And did you have to use this poor creature?!"

"What do you mean? You eat meals in the Great Hall and they are also prepared by elves. Besides, Sparky is happy that he could make all this for us."

"It's a Saturday night. He also has the right to have free time."

"Don't make me laugh, Granger." There was irritation in his voice similar to Hermione's. "He doesn't need it and doesn't want it."

"Of course he needs it and wants it, but he is afraid to assert his rights!"

"Do what you want. You don't have to eat anything. You can stand right there, while I taste all of these delicacies." He sat down on the blanket. Draco was angry that this stupid Gryffindor didn't appreciate his efforts. "Sparky, that's all. You can go now," he instructed the elf and, still not looking at Hermione, he started eating.

"Yes, Draco Malfoy, sir," the elf said, then bowed at the waist and apparated with a crack.

Hermione stood for a moment, looking at Malfoy who was eating and not paying her any attention. Finally, she gave up and sat down on the blanket next to him. She decided, however, that she must take care of this issue in the future and make Malfoy realize that house-elves should have rights.

"Was that your house-elf?" she asked.

"Yes. And in anticipation of your next question: I'm not going to release him," he said with anger in his voice.

"I was rather worried that he would say something about this to your mother."

Draco finally looked at her and smiled slightly. "I forbade him to talk about it to anyone."

"But when the holidays come, you will lose control over him and then he will no longer have to listen to your orders," she continued to worry.

"You are wrong. Sparky is a part of the assets I inherited from my uncle, Alfard Black. In his will, he left me all his money and properties. Right now, it is part of the Malfoy fortune, but when I turn seventeen in June, everything that was mentioned in his will would be mine," he explained. "It's hard for me to imagine having to deal with life without money, but I won't have to thanks to Uncle Alfard," he added after a moment.

Hermione nodded in understanding. That explained a lot of things. Even though she never asked Malfoy about it, she wondered how it was possible that someone who always praised his fortune was willing to give it all up without a blink of an eye.

"But it's still less than the Malfoy fortune," she said, hoping to find out more.

"Believe me, it's still more than I could ever spend."

"Malfoy?" she asked uncertainly.

"What?"

"How many elves will you have?"

The boy laughed. "Only three. And in anticipation of your next question: No, I will not release them."

"Can you promise me something, though?"

"It depends on what it is."

"Will you try to treat them courteously? Will you be nice to them?"

"Why?" He still couldn't understand why all of this was so important to her.

"Just do it, okay?" she asked, realizing that explaining her ideas for the hundredth time wouldn't make any sense to him.

"I'll try," he said, recognizing that in order to stay in her good graces he had to make some compromises. After all, he didn't have to be nice to elves all the time; just when Granger was in the vicinity.

"Thank you," she replied, looking into the basket and pulling out a sandwich. Now, they both sat and ate in silence, not knowing what to talk about.

"You were right. This was a really good idea. It's beautiful here." She broke the silence, looking at the reddening sun on the surface of the lake. She thought that a date like this was a little kitschy, but she didn't know what else she should say.

Draco's face relaxed in contentment and he looked at Hermione, who was still observing the lake. He thought that this was the perfect moment to put the rest of his plan into action. He grabbed her face with his hand and turned her toward him. Then, without giving her time to think, he joined his lips to hers.

Hermione was surprised into stillness, but when he gently sucked on her bottom lip, she slowly began to reciprocate the kiss. At that moment, she realized that since meeting with Krum a couple times in fourth year, this was her first real date as well as her first kiss on a date. Startled, she found that she didn't mind being kissed this way and that she didn't think about Ron during it. So, when Malfoy began to kiss her with even greater enthusiasm, she surrendered to it and their tongues danced, teasing and stroking each other. After a while, she felt his hand stroking her waist through the thin material of her shirt and it caused a pleasant shiver to run down her body.

Finally, he grabbed Hermione around the waist with both hands and sat her in his lap, so that now her breasts pressed against his torso and her legs, which were bent at the knees, were placed on either side of his thighs.

While continuing to kiss him, she folded her hands around his neck in order to keep her balance. Draco had to admit that this mission was much more pleasant than the task assigned to him by the Dark Lord.

He slid both hands under her shirt and began stroking her bare skin. He did it carefully, focusing only on her waist and back. He felt the goose bumps on her skin with his fingertips. A moment later, he felt her hardened nipples through the thin layer of material separating their torsos.

Hermione had no idea what was happening to her. Although she was not under the influence of the lust potion, she felt a pleasant tension in her lower abdomen and increasing moisture between her legs. She didn't completely understand how it was possible that Malfoy was able to get such a reaction from her only by kissing and touching her in several places. On the one hand, she was scared, but on the other hand, she was fascinated and attracted. Her body was almost screaming at Malfoy to go further, but she thought that it was still too early. She had just decided to give him a chance and he had to prove that he was worthy of trust first.

His mouth broke away from hers and began to wander down, focusing on her neck. Hermione felt like she was going to explode, so when one of his hands came up and he touched her breast through the thin material of her bra, she jumped slightly. When she leaned her weight on top of his thighs, she felt a rock-hard bulge through his robes, which was now rubbing against her panties. Realizing what it meant, she tried to get up, but couldn't because Malfoy's arms immediately grabbed ahold of her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking at her amazed and still excited.

"No, I can't," she stammered. "Too fast...I don't want..." she tried to explain, unable to construct a proper sentence.

Draco cursed silently. "Yeah, because we haven't done it already," he commented on her panic attack, which instantly sobered her.

"You know that this is not the same!" she said with emphasis and tried to get up again, but he didn't give her a chance and restrained her before she could move.

"I know. I just thought that since we're together―" he said, hesitatingly.

"I've only been kissed once before," she said, interrupting him. Then she looked at him with the eyes of a lost child. "Well, it was you after all. We have a history of almost six years of hatred. Do you think that one day you suggest that we be together and the next I will...with you...that I'll do it with you?"

"To be honest, that's what I thought," he answered with disarming sincerity.

"You…you ..." She looked at him with growing rage.

"What? I'm a guy."

"What about your statement that you would never get close to me without the potion? How will you be able to annihilate the disgust you feel toward me?"

"I already did," he said and shrugged.

Hermione didn't quite understand the ease with which he could forget their dislike of one another. In her case, sex was not about the act alone. She suspected that if someone she liked was in Malfoy's place and that someone had caused similar reactions in her body, she wouldn't have a second thought about it and would just go for it. She felt that she had been ready for a long time and hadn't done it just because there were no interesting candidates around her except Ron, of course, but he was with Lavender. But this was Malfoy! After all, people don't do such things with someone they don't even like. How could he cope so quickly with their long-standing hatred? She couldn't understand it, no matter how long she wondered about it.

"I know I agreed to try, but you must understand that I can't just forget all these past years. First, I have to like you a little bit," she explained.

"That will not take very long," he said with his typical confidence. "I'll try from now on until that effect."

"You can always try," she said and smiled, feeling relieved that her refusal didn't end up in a quarrel or insults. At that point, she realized that the sun had set and it was almost completely dark. "We better get back to the castle." He nodded at her and she remembered she was still sitting on his lap, thus preventing him from standing up.

She instantly got up and straightened her skirt and shirt. At the same time, Malfoy rose from the blanket and now stood in front of her.

"So...well, bye," she said, and shyly kissed him on the lips then ran in the direction of the castle.

"Sparky!" he called when she disappeared on the other side of the huge rock. The elf appeared before him immediately. "Clean all of this," he ordered and also went to the castle.

He was angry that Granger didn't give in as easily as he had expected. He wondered how this Mudblood dared to refuse him! She should be proud that he would lower himself to be with her, that he wanted to shag her! He decided that he couldn't let go of it that easily and he would have to take revenge. When he put his plan into motion, she would beg to be fucked by him.

When Hermione woke up the next day, she still had not recovered from what happened by the lake. She dreamed about the nasty Slytherin throughout the night and it was certainly a very pleasant dream. Hermione knew that after just a few more meetings like the day before, she would quickly forget that she didn't like Malfoy and she would give into him. She remembered that he said he would keep trying until the effect. She couldn't help feeling excited about that, and it terrified her.

Harry sat in front of Dumbledore in the headmaster's office and thought about everything he had just learned. He was thinking about Voldemort's Horcruxes, the prophecy and his own future, which he chose deliberately and not because of the prediction, when he heard Dumbledore's voice.

"Harry, there is just one more issue I wanted to talk with you about."

"Yes, sir?" asked Harry, torn from his thoughts.

"When we started our lessons, you wanted to know if you could tell your friends about what we are talking about here."

"That's right," Harry confirmed, but didn't know what the headmaster was up to.

"Do you feel that you can trust them?"

"Yes," Harry said uncertainly.

"Then what has changed? I think you have stopped trusting Miss Granger..."

Harry suddenly felt anger flood him. He knew that he had agreed with Ron and Ginny to not tell anyone about Hermione and Malfoy, but he realized he couldn't stand it if the headmaster started to tell him about how trustworthy Hermione was.

"Malfoy is up to something and she is dating him!" burst Harry, upset. He knew that if the headmaster talked more about the subject, he had to know something, and sooner or later he would draw the truth from Harry.

"She told you that?"

"No, but Ron and I saw her with Malfoy!" He became even more upset.

"Did she explain it to you?"

"She didn't have to," Harry answered quietly but sadly this time.

"Has she ever failed your trust before that you don't even want to hear what she has to say?"

"No, but―" Harry didn't really know what he should say at this point. "Do you know about everything?!" he asked, realizing that Dumbledore must know more about Hermione and Malfoy than he could imagine.

"Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy visited me and told me everything," explained Dumbledore.

"How can you trust her?! They are up to something!"

"Harry, think about it. Why did you trust her before? The next time I ask you for a meeting, come to my office with Mr. Weasley and Miss Weasley."

"Yes, sir," he answered, resigned. He knew that the discussion on this topic was pointless. He didn't want to undermine the validity of the headmaster's actions, but it upset Harry that he not only trusted Snape, but Malfoy and Hermione as well.

Harry said goodbye to Dumbledore and returned to his dormitory, where he repeated everything the headmaster told him to Ron. The case of the Horcruxes went by the wayside and their conversation focused on the credulity of Dumbledore, which neither of the boys could understand. They both came to the conclusion that they would wait and see what happened the next time they visited his office. They speculated that perhaps the headmaster knew something about Malfoy and Hermione that they didn't know and would share this information with them during the next meeting.

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	8. Trial of Strength

Chapter 8  
Trial of Strength

A few days later, while walking to Herbology, Hermione thought about what a strange turn her life had taken in the last few weeks. If someone had told her three months ago that she would be in a relationship with Malfoy and pregnant with his child, she would either laugh or send that person to St. Mungo's Janus Thickey Ward to be with Gilderoy Lockhart. But now it turned out that this was the actual truth. She didn't know what to feel or think. She wondered if the relationship with Malfoy really had a chance to succeed.

Since the meeting by the lake, Malfoy had behaved towards her like he had the last few years: he teased her along with other Slytherins and never tried to have a normal conversation with her. Hermione knew that, for both their safety, they couldn't let others suspect that something had changed between them, but she had the impression that annoying her gave Malfoy the same pleasure as before. She didn't know if Malfoy's actions were an expression of his true feelings, or were the result of a desire to hide their relationship.

"_Accio_ Granger's bag!" she heard someone shout suddenly, then she felt her school bag jerk away from her shoulder and saw it glide into the air somewhere. She turned around immediately and saw Malfoy, who stood between his henchmen, Crabbe and Goyle, and held her backpack.

"Leave my backpack alone, you ferret!" she shouted angrily.

"And what are you going to do to me if I don't?" he asked, with a challenging voice. Hermione immediately pulled out her wand and pointed it at Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle responded by pulling out their wands and pointing them at Hermione.

"Give me back my bag or you will regret it!" she threatened.

"Gregory, Vincent, lower your wands. I can handle her on my own," Malfoy spoke stoically. He was afraid that Crabbe or Goyle could harm Granger or his child with some reckless spell. "Tell me, Granger, why I should give it back to you. I just want to see what interesting things you have here," he explained while opening the bag and looking inside.

"Don't browse through my stuff!" she shouted again nervously, but a smirk appeared on the Slytherin's face. "_Aquamenti_!" she screamed and a stream of water squirted out from her wand and hit Malfoy in the face. Seeing his face and hair wet, Hermione began to laugh hysterically. His lips curled into an expression of absolute rage.

"_Accio_ Granger's wand!" he shouted irritably, surprising Hermione. Her wand slipped out from her hand, flew into the air for a few feet and landed in Malfoy's hands. Hermione looked at him, scared, but he didn't pay her any attention. He pointed his wand at hers and used a non-verbal spell. Hermione's wand flew out of Malfoy's hand and fell to the floor. Draco looked up at Hermione with an expression of triumph and dropped her backpack on the ground. "That'll teach you not to do that again," he explained angrily. Although the boy realized that he really enjoyed kissing her, among other things, it didn't mean that he liked her as a person and so he still took pleasure in bullying her. "Now, you can take your stuff." He turned to her as a mischievous grin appeared on his wet face.

Hermione immediately ran over to the boy and picked up her backpack from the ground, but when she reached for her wand, it flew a few inches away from her. Crabbe and Goyle burst out in goofy laughter. Hermione looked at them angrily.

"What have you done?" she asked.

"It's nothing, only a simple repelling spell," Draco said, and turned on his heel to leave. Crabbe and Goyle followed him, still looking back and laughing at Hermione's attempts to grab her wand.

When the Slytherins disappeared from her sight, Hermione still could not reach her wand. Every time she tried, it jumped away from her. "This time, he has gone too far," she thought, angry to the limit. "But I'll show him. He will never do anything like this again. If only someone were here to help me get my wand back."

Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Startled, Hermione looked in the direction of the approaching person and relief appeared on her face when she saw who it was.

"Neville, how good of you to be here!" She was pleased at the sight of her fellow classmate. He smiled back and walked over to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It was that stupid ferret! Malfoy cast a spell on my wand and now I can't grab it. Can you lend me yours?" The boy reached for his wand and handed it to Hermione without any hesitation.

"_Finite__Incantatem_," she said, pointing at her wand, and then walked over and picked it up from the ground. "I have one more request for you," she added, giving Neville his wand back. "Are you going to the Herbology lesson?"

"Of course," he said. It was his favorite subject and nothing in the world could make him opt out of even one lesson.

"Can you tell Professor Sprout that I'll be absent today because I feel sick?"

"Are you ill?" he asked, worried.

"No, but tell her that I have a terrible stomach ache and that I went to bed. If someone else asks, tell them the same thing."

"But you never skip classes," he said, surprised.

"I know. Therefore, nothing will happen this one time. This is very important."

"I still don't understand. Professor Sprout's lessons are so interesting, after all."

"Neville, please. I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't very important. Please tell Professor Sprout that I have severe abdominal pain."

"It's a really strange request, but I won't ask anything else. I'm sure you know what you're doing," he said, still surprised by her behavior.

"Thank you," she said and smiled. "Now go, or you will be late." He looked at his watch. The lesson would begin in three minutes.

"Okay. Bye," he said immediately when he realized that it was so late, and then he ran towards the greenhouse.

"Bye," she said and headed for Gryffindor Tower. She really didn't like to skip class, but she knew that revenge required some sacrifices.

A few minutes later, she reached the dormitory and sat on her bed. Herbology was the last subject of the day, so she had the whole afternoon and evening to study, especially since she wasn't planning to go to dinner. She reached for her bag and opened it. Looking for her transfiguration manual, she came across an envelope which hadn't been there before. There was no writing on the envelope so, curious, she opened it and pulled out some parchment from inside.

_Meet __me __today __in __the Room of Requirement __at six.__  
__ DM_

Suddenly, she felt even more anger towards the Slytherin. "Does he think he can do something like that, just to drop me a letter to order an appointment? Oh no, I have to give him a lesson!" She threw the letter into the fireplace, pulled out the transfiguration textbook from her bag and began to read it.

Draco arrived at the greenhouse with still a few minutes left before the lesson, so he sat down at his table and began to wonder if he had overacted with Granger. He came to the conclusion that it was Granger's fault. He just wanted to leave her a message and she splashed him with water. He had to respond somehow, after all. But what if she took offense and broke up with him?

A moment later, Professor Sprout came into the classroom and the lesson began. Granger still wasn't there. "Damn, she will be really angry that she was late to class because of me," thought Draco.

Moments later, the sound of the door opening pulled Draco from his reverie. Neville Longbottom stood on the threshold. Draco felt a certain disappointment that it wasn't Granger.

"Sorry I'm late," apologized Neville.

"It's all right, my dear. We have just started," the plump teacher said, calming him down. Neville smiled, relieved.

"On the way here, I saw Hermione Granger. She asked me to tell you that she will be absent today because she has a stomach ache and wanted to rest in her dormitory. She suddenly fell ill, because she was bent over and holding her stomach. She looked really bad," he added, in order to fulfill his task the best he could, then he sat on the first bench.

"I understand," the teacher replied. "I hope that Miss Granger will recover quickly and that it's nothing serious."

Draco felt like his heart had leapt into his throat. Immediately, the darkest scenarios began to appear in his mind. At this point, the girl's stomach ache meant only one thing for him: something was wrong with the child. If she lost it, it meant certain death for him. He didn't know what to do. Should he excuse himself from class and see what had happened? But even if he left the classroom, he couldn't get into her dormitory to check if everything was fine. Or maybe he should go to the hospital wing and see if Granger was there. But how would he explain himself to Pomfrey?

No lesson had ever stretched so long in his life. It seemed to continue for hours. Minutes passed as Draco sat on pins and needles. When Professor Sprout finally finished, he immediately rose from his seat and stood before Neville, who was slowly packing his stuff.

"Longbottom, what's going on with Granger? Is she beginning to neglect her schooling? When I saw her just before the lesson, she looked pretty healthy. Maybe someone should mention it to the headmaster?" Draco asked, forcing himself to maintain his usual arrogant expression.

"Leave it alone, Malfoy. It's none of your business," Neville said to him.

"Really?"

"Exactly, but if you must know, I said the truth. Her stomach ache started suddenly when she bent over to pick up her wand from the ground." Neville invented the explanation on the spot. He didn't like to lie, but Hermione had rescued him from trouble so many times that he wanted to return the favor at any price.

At this point, Draco felt another panic attack. Was it his fault? Did he, by his own stupidity, assure his own death? He wanted to ask Longbottom for more details, but couldn't because it would look too suspicious. So, slowly and with nonchalance, he headed for the exit and when he reached the threshold, he sped toward the hospital wing.

When he arrived, panting at the door, he paused for a moment to calm his breathing. He took a few lungfuls of air and pushed the handle. The infirmary was almost empty. He didn't see Granger on any of the beds. Instead, Madam Pomfrey bustled around, helping a few other sick students.

"What's the matter, Mr. Malfoy?" Madam Pomfrey asked without being distracted from her work.

"Have you seen Gregory Goyle here today?" He invented the lie on the spot as an excuse for his presence there.

"No, Mr. Malfoy. Did something happen to Mr. Goyle?"

"Uhhh, no." She looked at him in surprise. "I mean, yes. He fell down and I thought that he came to you, because his nose was bleeding. Can you please tell him that I was looking for him if he shows up," he finished, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy."

"Thank you and goodbye," he said and quickly left.

When he stood in the hallway, he began to wonder what to do next. He hoped that Granger appeared in the Great Hall for dinner and he would be able to make sure that she was all right. But dinner was in two hours. He didn't know how to survive that time without losing his sanity. He decided to run to the Owlery and send a letter to Granger. He knew it wasn't very discrete, but he came to the conclusion that he would minimize the risk by sending the letter with a school owl. He thought that people wouldn't investigate why a school owl appeared in Granger's dormitory. Anyone could send a letter to her like that. Reaching a decision, Draco ran once again.

After a few minutes, he got to the Owlery and almost groaned. He was devastated when he looked at the birds sitting on their perches. None of the school owls were available; all of them had been sent out with letters. Suddenly, one of the birds moved towards him. A beautiful hawk owl flew up to him, sat down, and pulled a leg towards him.

"Not today," he said to the bird. "I can't send this letter with you." The owl turned its head from him, spread its wings and soared into the air, back onto one of the upper perches.

Draco cursed silently, wondering what else he could do in this situation. He couldn't find any information about Granger's health or recommend that she go to the hospital wing to see if the child was all right. "How could I have been so stupid?" Draco wondered, walking in an unspecified direction. "Merlin, if this all ends happily, I promise that I will never do anything like that again. I will never laugh at Granger and I will never play any jokes on her," he begged silently.

Suddenly, he realized that because of all the tension and fear, tears were streaming down his cheeks. Not wanting anyone to see him like this, he went to the first bathroom he saw. Fortunately, it wasn't Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, because he couldn't stand the company of that annoying ghost now. There was also no other living soul inside, so he opened the door to the first stall, sat down on the toilet, and let the tears flow quite freely. After a few minutes, he looked at his watch. It was almost six. He concluded that he would go to dinner early and wait for Granger there.

He stepped out of the stall and stood by one of the sinks. He turned on the tap and washed his face with cold water. Then he came out of the bathroom and went in the direction of the Great Hall. There were only a few students when he got there.

He sat down and began to watch the Gryffindor table. Other students started coming in to dinner, but Granger wasn't among them. When one of his colleagues spoke to Draco, he disposed of the conversation with some monosyllabic answer and returned to his observation. Minutes passed and Granger still had not come. "I'm hopeless. I can't do anything, not even the simplest tasks," he began to think at some point. "I signed the death warrant on myself. I will die and, with me, so will the Malfoy name." In his mind, he could already see the nightmares that plagued him turning into reality. He saw how he would lose his life because of Granger's miscarriage.

Dinner was over and Granger never showed up. Once again, Draco felt the tears begin to accumulate. He realized that if he didn't learn something about the baby today, his night would be even scarier than usual. He had to do something. So he got up from the table, walked out of the Great Hall and turned onto one of the lesser-used corridors. Tears were running down his cheeks as he looked around.

"Sparky!" he said in a weak voice, after he made sure that he was alone. Immediately, the house-elf appeared before him.

"Yes, Draco Malfoy, sir?" asked the house-elf, and he bowed.

"Go to the sixth year Gryffindor girls' dormitory and see what Hermione Granger is doing and how her health is. It's very important that no one but her sees you. And hurry up. I'll be waiting here for you," he said, his voice trembling with emotions.

"Yes, sir," replied the elf, then he dissapparated.

At the same time, Hermione lay in bed reading a book, completely healthy and relaxed. She wanted to utilize the time she had alone in the dormitory. She knew that when Lavender and Parvati appeared, she wouldn't be able to focus on her studies because of their gossiping and giggling.

Hermione never assumed what condition Malfoy would be in because of her plan. She knew that Malfoy cared about this child, but she didn't know how important it was to him, so when her anger had passed, she stopped thinking about him.

Suddenly, she heard a crack and she peered out from behind her book, startled. A pair of huge, round eyes looked back at her.

"Sparky?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes ma'am."

"What are you doing here?" she asked, smiling at the house-elf.

"My master sent me. He wanted to know how missus is feeling."

Hermione smiled triumphantly. "Did he say anything else?"

"No missus, but he was shaking and crying. Me think he was very nervous,"

Hermione couldn't hide her surprise. "Draco Malfoy was crying? Somehow, I don't want to believe it."

"Me tell the truth," the house-elf insisted.

"Is your master crying often?" she asked out of curiosity. Somehow, she couldn't imagine Malfoy crying and never guessed that her behavior might inspire such a reaction.

"Not now, missus. The last time me saw him cry when he was a little boy," the house-elf explained.

Hermione felt a little remorse and concluded that Malfoy had already suffered his punishment. She had to admit that even in her wildest dreams she didn't suppose that he would worry so much about their child.

"Tell him I was very upset because of his behavior and hence my feeling unwell, but now everything is under control and he doesn't need to worry." She couldn't miss the opportunity to give Malfoy a lesson. The next time he wanted to have some fun at her expense, he would think twice. "And tell him to meet me tomorrow in the Room of Requirement at 5:30."

"Yes ma'am," the house-elf said, and bowed low.

"Thank you, Sparky. You can go." She smiled at him broadly. The whole house-elf's face beamed like the moon. Then Sparky bowed again and dissapparated with a crack.

When Sparky apparated in front of Malfoy, smiling from ear to ear, Draco was shaking and walking up and down the empty corridor. He was still unable to hold back his tears and trembling hands.

"What are you grinning for?" he angrily asked the elf, who immediately curled up into himself.

"How is Granger feeling and what is she doing?"

"The young lady was reading a book. She told Sparky to tell Draco Malfoy, sir, that everything is all right. She was just really upset because of master's behavior and hence her being indisposed, sir, but now everything is under control and master doesn't have to worry about it, sir. Missus also asked Sparky to tell master to meet her tomorrow at 5:30 in the Room of Requirement."

Draco felt relief, as if a large load had fallen with a thud off his heart. His requests were answered, and his life was no longer threatened. As soon as he felt relief, it was immediately replaced with anger at Granger for causing him to experience such fear and for the fact that she dared to set up a meeting. He decided, however, that he would hide his feelings because he did not want to make her nervous again.

"Did she tell you anything else?"

"No, but she was very nice and Sparky really likes missus."

"I didn't ask about your opinion. Remember, don't tell anyone where you have been today, what you did and with whom you spoke. You can go."

The house-elf bowed and dissapparated.

Draco remained still for a moment, trying to comprehend the experiences of the past afternoon. He finally managed to put on his typical mask of indifference and moved towards the dungeons.

When Hermione learned that Malfoy had cried, upset with the health of their child, she quickly realized that she had a lot of power over the Slytherin. Until now, she had felt like a puppet controlled by Malfoy in this relationship, and Hermione didn't like it when someone directed her movements. Of course, this was an exaggeration, but Hermione noticed that she was doing everything Malfoy wanted. First, she agreed to give birth to this child and later, she agreed on this whole relationship. Hermione wasn't accustomed to guys who used their wits to dominate and impose their will over her.

In her friendship with Harry and Ron, Hermione was the voice of reason, and calmed the questionable pursuits of her friends. She planned their adventures in order to reach their goal in the safest way. With Malfoy, it was different. It was he who planned and with the advantage of premeditated arguments, he convinced Hermione to follow in the direction that he had established the destination unknown to her. Hermione still doubted that Malfoy's sole purpose was to settle down. She believed that there was something else, but she didn't know what. Hermione was annoyed because if she had that knowledge, she could refute all of Malfoy's arguments and do what was best for her, not him.

Now aware of her new power, Hermione felt a lot more confident. If Malfoy could control her, then she could also control him by using the knowledge that the child was his weakness in order to get what she wanted. Comforted with these thoughts, Hermione walked toward the tapestry depicting the attempt of Barnabas the Barmy to teach trolls ballet.

When she finally got there, she walked back and forth along the blank wall, thinking of a place where Malfoy would want to spend a date with her. After the third circuit, a door appeared on the wall. Hermione opened it and stood on the threshold of the room created by Malfoy. She looked around and almost laughed. "Does Malfoy really think that he can woo me with such cheap tricks?" she wondered.

At the center of the room stood a beautiful, elegant table with two chairs in a similar style. On the table lay a snow-white tablecloth with two plate sets. The rest of the room looked just as elegant and it all gave the impression of a very upscale restaurant. Malfoy stood next to the table dressed in a very stylish and tasteful robe. He was ideally suited to the whole picture, especially since he held a single, red rose in his hand. Hermione was a romantic, so she knew how to distinguish true romanticism from the kitsch and the showy. However, she decided not to say anything about it, giving Malfoy the false hope that she was becoming more and more enamored of him thanks to his courtship.

"Hi," he greeted her, then he gave Hermione a kiss and handed her the rose.

"You came up with all of this by yourself? I am really impressed" she replied, taking the rose from him and looking around with false admiration.

"Yes, I came up with the decor," he said, smiling with satisfaction. "Can we sit down?" he proposed and pulled out a chair for Hermione. She smiled at him in thanks and sat down on the offered spot.

"How do you feel?" he asked when they both sat comfortably.

"Today, I feel very well, but yesterday I was really scared. It's all because of nerves. You know…my wand. When you went to class, leaving me alone in the hallway, I was really annoyed that I would be late. As you can see, it was enough. Fortunately, I just lay down for a while and the aches subsided. Then, just to make sure, I stayed in bed for the rest of the day and now I feel reborn."

"You haven't seen Madam Pomfrey?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"No. She still doesn't know about my pregnancy and I was too afraid to go to her and explain everything. Besides, it wouldn't have happened if not for that incident with my wand."

"It wasn't my fault!" Draco said, irritated. "If you hadn't splashed me with water, I wouldn't have done that."

"And how was I supposed to know why you took my bag. I had to defend myself. And I could have used worse spells!"

"We need to find a way to schedule appointments with each other without arousing anyone's suspicions." He changed the topic, not wanting to apologize to her for what he did. "Anyway, you have to go to Madam Pomfrey. You should be provided with medical care during your pregnancy."

"I know. But it's not that easy to go to her and tell her about my condition. Besides, so far everything has been fine. I casted a few diagnostic spells on myself and they showed nothing out of the ordinary. Yesterday's incident was just from being distressed," she ended, hoping that the boy would feel even guiltier and stop insisting on her going to Madam Pomfrey.

"Quit this subject already. It won't happen again and you will go to Madam Pomfrey."

"I was planning to go; I just have to gather the courage. It's so easy for you to tell me to go. What will she think of me when I won't be able to identify the father of my child?"

"She'll think that you entertained the whole of Gryffindor," he laughed, but immediately realized his mistake when he looked at her face. After all, he had to convince her to go on this visit, not discourage her. "Don't worry. It won't be so bad," he added after a moment, trying to fix his mistake. "Sparky!" he called and house-elf appeared immediately at their table. "Bring us dinner," he ordered. The house-elf disapparated and Hermione looked at Draco angrily. "What? The Room of Requirement can't conjure food."

"I asked you to be nicer to him." Draco didn't have time to answer, because the house-elf appeared again, this time bringing a roast with him.

Without a word Sparky began to put the food on the plates.

When putting the roast on Hermione's plate, Sparky chose all the better pieces of meat.

"Is this enough, missus?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," she said and smiled broadly. The house-elf returned her smile and began to place a portion of roast lamb on Malfoy's plate. This time, however, he didn't pay any attention to which pieces he put on the platter; one could even get the impression that he chose the parts that looked the least tasty.

"Enough," Draco said to the house-elf. Hermione looked pointedly at the boy. "Thank you," he added reluctantly.

"Did you already start that essay for Transfiguration?" Hermione asked while Sparky placed more food on their plates.

"No, I haven't started yet. I think it's stupid that, after almost six years, we have to write about transfiguring a watch into a bouquet of flowers. That isn't very useful."

"I don't agree with you," she answered, while Sparky put glasses of juice before them. "This is not about transfiguring a watch into other complex objects. It's all about the principle theory: if you learn this spell, you will easily master other spells of this kind," she explained, then cut a piece of roast and put it into her mouth.

"I still don't see the reason why this spell would be useful."

"Maybe it's because you haven't started your essay yet."

"Never mind," he ended the subject, annoyed. Why did she always have to argue with him about everything? "Maybe we should talk about something we have similar opinions on?" At this point, there was silence, because they both began to think about the topics that they wouldn't argue about. Although Draco didn't mind bickering with Hermione because he felt it was the natural state of relations between the two of them, he concluded that the constant arguing wouldn't help him woo and manipulate her. He was with her just to make it easier for him to control her and keep an eye on her.

"I don't know you well enough to know what topic we have similar opinions on. Maybe we could play a game that would allow us to understand each other better?" she proposed shyly after a while.

"Are you insane? Do you really think that some kind of childish game will help us? It doesn't make any sense," he protested. There was silence again, because neither of them had any idea what else to talk about. To do something with the awkward silence, both of them focused on their food. Now, only the sound of cutlery hitting the plates could be heard.

"Would you like to dance?" Draco asked, when they both finished their meal and romantic music resounded around them. He stood up, walked over to Hermione and stretched out his hand to her. She grabbed it and also got up from her chair. Draco took Hermione by the waist while she put her hands on his shoulders. Then, they both started to move to the rhythm of the slow love song.

"I wouldn't have expected such romanticism from you, Malfoy," she said after a while, with a hint of mockery in her voice. She came to the conclusion that she could no longer stand the pretense that she was impressed with the Slytherin's efforts.

"Do you always have to ruin everything?" he asked, stopping mid-step.

"Tell me, honestly, that this dinner and the dancing are the real you," she answered. "I want to get to know you. I don't need all this cheap romance. You're not in love with me and I'm not in love with you. What's with this sham?"

"I wanted you to like it, but as usual you have your criticisms!" he said, irritated.

"I would just prefer to know what your ideal date is."

"Do you really want to find out?" he asked as a devious smile appeared on his face.

"Yes."

"You asked for it," he said, then suddenly all the decor in the Room of Requirement vanished and a huge bed appeared instead. Hermione looked around, but before she could protest, Draco covered her mouth with his. He led them to the bed, still kissing her. Hermione wanted to say something to stop him, but his mouth somehow made her lose all her strength to do it. Perhaps he was a nasty and arrogant Slytherin, but he sure could kiss and she had to admit to herself that she really didn't want to stop, at least not yet. Suddenly, she felt the back of her legs touch the bed and a moment later, she lay on a soft mattress with Malfoy on top of her.

"That's not what I meant," she blurted out when he released her mouth to start kissing her neck.

"If not this, then what?" he asked between successive kisses.

"Do you really like just sex and Quidditch?" she asked, while at the same time trying, with much difficulty, to refrain from sounding out how much she liked what he was doing to her neck.

"No," he explained. "But right now, I would like to focus on sex. This is my ideal date," he added, and his hand went under her blouse, stopping on her bra. Draco began to caress her breast through the thin material and Hermione moaned softly. Because of the thrill of excitement flooding her, she was no longer able to hold back. Everything influenced her: his smell, his kisses, his hand touching her breasts and his hard manhood thrusting against her. Draco took advantage of her moment of distraction and when she arched her back, he immediately reached out underneath her and undid her bra. When she fell back, he brought his hand to her chest, but this time in order to move her loosened bra.

Realizing what was happening, Hermione cursed to herself for this weakness. She couldn't tell him to stop, because it was too pleasant. She was glad that she was still wearing a shirt, because she didn't feel ready to let him look at her naked body. While she was thinking about it, she felt his hand touch her breast without the barrier of material. His thumb gently stroked her nipple so that it became harder. Then his other hand moved to her other breast and began to do exactly the same thing.

Draco noticed that her breasts were tender to the touch and their size was a little bigger than his palm. Draco was feeling very good, even more so when he looked at her face, which expressed delight and bliss. "I'm awesome. No girl can remain indifferent to me," he thought to himself. He loved to bring girls into such a state. But he knew that Hermione was different than all the girls so far, and he realized that she could sober up in a second and ask him to stop. To implement his plan, he couldn't let that happen.

Although touching her breasts pleased him, and even though he wanted nothing more at that moment than to raise her blouse to feel and taste her hardened nipples in his mouth, he knew that he had to stop. He needed sex, but there was something more to achieve. He focused all of his willpower, imagining Granger begging him not to stop, and he slowly pulled his hands from her body and out of her T-shirt. He knew that he was close to his goal, because she looked at him with surprise and disappointment.

"You said that you are not ready, and I don't want to rush you," he explained. "I shouldn't have gone that far."

"Yeah, right," she agreed and her face flushed. She would never admit to him that she really hadn't wanted to stop so soon. "Damn Malfoy. How could he do this to me? It would be better for him not to begin in the first place," she thought. "I think I should go to my dormitory," she said, trying to hide her embarrassment. How could she allow Malfoy to stop things? She was supposed to be the one who said no.

"Ok," he said, getting up from the bed. "Just be sure to go to Madam Pomfrey."

"Don't tell me what to do!" she said, annoyed, and got up from the bed. Then she hooked the clasp of her bra without lifting her shirt. "And you should remember not to make such jokes like the one yesterday," she added, straightening the rest of her outfit.

"Apparently, someone needs to tell you what to do, since you won't do it without a command. I have promised that I won't do such things and I intend to keep my word." He was absolutely calm when he said this, since he knew that she was being aggressive because of her frustration. His plan was working and Draco was now in a very good mood. Soon, she would be on her knees, begging him to shag her. Right now, however, she looked at him angrily and then left the room, slamming the door behind her.


End file.
